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Ezekiel 3
New King James Version

The Responsibility of the Prophet

3 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; (A)eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll.

3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I (B)ate, and it was in my mouth (C)like honey in sweetness.

4 Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, 6 not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, (D)had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not listen to you, (E)because they will not listen to Me; (F)for all the house of Israel are [a]impudent and hard-hearted. 8 Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. 9 (G)Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; (H)do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”

10 Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. 11 And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, (I)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”

12 Then (J)the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: “Blessed is the (K)glory of the Lord from His place!” 13 I also heard the (L)noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the [b]heat of my spirit; but (M)the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. 15 Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and (N)I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

Ezekiel Is a Watchman

16 Now it (O)came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 17 (P)“Son of man, I have made you (Q)a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them (R)warning from Me: 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man (S)shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; (T)but you have delivered your soul.

20 “Again, when a (U)righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.”

22 (V)Then the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, “Arise, go out (W)into the plain, and there I shall talk with you.”

23 So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, (X)the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I (Y)saw by the River Chebar; (Z)and I fell on my face. 24 Then (AA)the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 And you, O son of man, surely (AB)they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them. 26 (AC)I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and (AD)not be [c]one to rebuke them, (AE)for they are a rebellious house. 27 (AF)But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, (AG)‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 3:7 Lit. strong of forehead
  2. Ezekiel 3:14 Or anger
  3. Ezekiel 3:26 Lit. one who rebukes
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Ezekiel 3
New International Version

3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate(A) it, and it tasted as sweet as honey(B) in my mouth.

4 He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.(C) 5 You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language,(D) but to the people of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.(E) 7 But the people of Israel are not willing to listen(F) to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.(G) 8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.(H) 9 I will make your forehead(I) like the hardest stone, harder than flint.(J) Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.(K)”

10 And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart(L) all the words I speak to you. 11 Go(M) now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’(N) whether they listen or fail to listen.(O)”

12 Then the Spirit lifted me up,(P) and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place where it was standing.[a] 13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures(Q) brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.(R) 14 The Spirit(S) then lifted me up(T) and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord(U) on me. 15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River.(V) And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days(W)—deeply distressed.

Ezekiel’s Task as Watchman

16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me:(X) 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman(Y) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.(Z) 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,(AA)’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for[b] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(AB) 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn(AC) from their wickedness(AD) or from their evil ways, they will die(AE) for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.(AF)

20 “Again, when a righteous person turns(AG) from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block(AH) before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(AI) 21 But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.(AJ)”

22 The hand of the Lord(AK) was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go(AL) out to the plain,(AM) and there I will speak to you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River,(AN) and I fell facedown.(AO)

24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me(AP) to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.(AQ) 25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.(AR) 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof(AS) of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people.(AT) 27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’(AU) Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.(AV)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 3:12 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text sound—may the glory of the Lord be praised from his place
  2. Ezekiel 3:18 Or in; also in verses 19 and 20
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Ezekiel 3
English Standard Version

3 And he said to me, (A)“Son of man, eat whatever you find here. (B)Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” (C)Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth (D)as sweet as honey.

4 And he said to me, (E)“Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. (F)Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. 7 (G)But 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 (H)have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. 8 (I)Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. 9 Like (J)emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. (K)Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, (L)all my words that I shall speak to you receive (M)in your heart, and hear with your ears. 11 And go to the exiles, (N)to your people, and speak to them and say to them, (O)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ (P)whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

12 (Q)Then the Spirit[a] lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice[b] of (R)a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” 13 It was the sound of the wings of (S)the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of (T)a great earthquake. 14 (U)The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the (V)hand of the Lord being strong upon me. 15 (W)And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling (X)by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.[c] And (Y)I sat there (Z)overwhelmed among them (AA)seven days.

A Watchman for Israel

16 (AB)And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 (AC)“Son of man, (AD)I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall (AE)give them warning from me. 18 (AF)If I say to the wicked, (AG)‘You shall surely die,’ (AH)and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person (AI)shall die for[d] his iniquity, (AJ)but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 (AK)But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, (AL)but you (AM)will have delivered your soul. 20 (AN)Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, (AO)and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. (AP)Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, (AQ)and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, (AR)but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But 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.”

22 (AS)And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into (AT)the valley,[e] and (AU)there I will speak with you.” 23 So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, (AV)the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen (AW)by the Chebar canal, (AX)and I fell on my face. 24 (AY)But 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. 25 And you, O son of man, behold, (AZ)cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that (BA)you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, (BB)for they are a rebellious house. 27 (BC)But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, (BD)‘Thus says the Lord God.’ (BE)He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 3:12 Or the wind; also verse 14
  2. Ezekiel 3:12 Or sound
  3. Ezekiel 3:15 Or Chebar, and to where they dwelt
  4. Ezekiel 3:18 Or in; also verses 19, 20
  5. Ezekiel 3:22 Or plain; also verse 23
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Ezekiel 3
New American Standard Bible

Ezekiel’s Commission

3 Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; (A)eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I (B)opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and (C)fill your [a]body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I (D)ate it, and it was as sweet as (E)honey in my mouth.

4 Then He said to me, “Son of man, [b]go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. 5 For (F)you are not being sent to a people of [c](G)unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, 6 nor to many peoples of [d]unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. [e]But I have sent you to [f]the people who understand you; 7 yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are (H)not willing to listen to Me. The entire house of Israel certainly is [g]stubborn and obstinate. 8 Behold, I have made your face just as hard as their faces, and your forehead just as hard as their foreheads. 9 Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, since they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My (I)words which I will speak to you and listen [h]closely. 11 [i]Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or [j]not, ‘This is what the Lord [k]God says.’”

12 Then the (J)Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great (K)rumbling sound behind me: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place!” 13 And I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another and the sound of the (L)wheels beside them, even a great rumbling sound. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and (M)the hand of the Lord was strong on me. 15 Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the river Chebar at Tel-abib, and I sat there for (N)seven days where they were living, causing consternation among them.

16 Now (O)at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a (P)watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, (Q)warn them from Me. 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way so that he may live, that wicked person shall die for wrongdoing, but his (R)blood I will require from your hand. 19 However if you have (S)warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die for wrongdoing, but you have (T)saved yourself. 20 Again, (U)when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits sin, and I place an (V)obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require from your hand. 21 However, if you have (W)warned [l]the righteous person that the righteous is not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall certainly live because he took warning; and you have saved yourself.”

22 Now the hand of the Lord was on me there, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will (X)speak to you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold, the (Y)glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory that (Z)I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face. 24 But the (AA)Spirit entered me and set me up on my feet; and He spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 And as for you, son of man, they will (AB)put ropes [m]around you and bind you with them so that you do not go out among them. 26 Moreover, (AC)I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be unable to speak and will not be a man who reprimands them, since they are a rebellious house. 27 But (AD)when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord [n]God says:’ The one who hears, let him hear; and the one who refuses, let him refuse; (AE)for they are a rebellious house.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 3:3 Lit inward parts
  2. Ezekiel 3:4 Lit go, come
  3. Ezekiel 3:5 Lit deep lip and heavy tongue
  4. Ezekiel 3:6 Lit deep lip and heavy tongue
  5. Ezekiel 3:6 Or I certainly have sent
  6. Ezekiel 3:6 Lit them, they understand
  7. Ezekiel 3:7 Lit of a hard forehead and hard of heart
  8. Ezekiel 3:10 Lit with your ears
  9. Ezekiel 3:11 Lit Go, come
  10. Ezekiel 3:11 Lit refrain
  11. Ezekiel 3:11 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  12. Ezekiel 3:21 Lit him, the righteous
  13. Ezekiel 3:25 Lit on
  14. Ezekiel 3:27 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
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Ezekiel 2
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