¹And he said to me, c“Son of man, eat whatever you find here. tEat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ²So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. ³And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” uThen I ate it, and it was in my mouth vas sweet as honey.

⁴And he said to me, w“Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. ⁵For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— ⁶not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. xSurely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. ⁷yBut the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel zhave a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. ⁸aBehold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹Like bemery harder than flint have I made your forehead. cFear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, dall my words that I shall speak to you receive ein your heart, and hear with your ears. ¹¹And go to the exiles, fto your people, and speak to them and say to them, g‘Thus says the Lord God,’ hwhether they hear or refuse to hear.”

¹²iThen the Spirit1 lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice2 of ja great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” ¹³It was the sound of the wings of kthe living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of la great earthquake. ¹⁴mThe Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the nhand of the Lord being strong upon me. ¹⁵oAnd I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling oby the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.3 And pI sat there qoverwhelmed among them rseven days.

A Watchman for Israel

¹⁶sAnd at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷t“Son of man, uI have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall vgive them warning from me. ¹⁸wIf I say to the wicked, x‘You shall surely die,’ vand you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person yshall die for4 his iniquity, zbut his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹aBut if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, bbut you cwill have delivered your soul. ²⁰dAgain, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, eand I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. vBecause you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, dand his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, zbut his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

²²fAnd the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into gthe valley,5 and hthere I will speak with you.” ²³So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, ithe glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen jby the Chebar canal, iand I fell on my face. ²⁴kBut the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. ²⁵And you, O son of man, behold, lcords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. ²⁶And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that myou shall be mute and unable to reprove them, nfor they are a rebellious house. ²⁷oBut when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, p‘Thus says the Lord God.’ qHe who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.