Ezekiel 3:1-15

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.” 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.” ^(C)Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth ^(D)as sweet as honey.

⁴And he said to me, ^(E)“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. ^(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. ⁹Like ^(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.” ¹⁰Moreover, 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. ¹¹And 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!” ¹³It 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.