Eat the Scroll

3 Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find—eat this scroll. Then go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and He gave me that scroll to eat, ³ as He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” I ate it and it tasted as sweet as honey.

⁴ Then He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak My words to them. ⁵ For you are not sent to a people of unintelligible speech and difficult tongue, but to the house of Israel, ⁶ nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult tongue, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel has a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. ⁸ Look, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹ I will make your forehead like adamant, harder than flint. Do not fear them. Do not be dismayed by their faces, for they are a rebellious house.”

¹⁰ Furthermore, He said to me: “Son of man, receive in your heart and hear with your ears all My words that I will speak to you. ¹¹ Go to the exiles, to the children of your people. Speak to them. Tell them, ‘Thus says Adonai Elohim.’ Whether they will listen or whether they will refuse to listen.”

¹² Then the Ruach lifted me up. I heard behind me the sound of a great earthquake—“Blessed is the glory of Adonai from His place!”— ¹³ also the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, the sound of the wheels beside them and the sound of a great earthquake. ¹⁴ The Ruach lifted me up and took me away. I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit. The hand of Adonai was strong upon me. ¹⁵ I came to the exiles at Tel-Abib who lived by the river Chebar. I sat where they were dwelling. I sat there overwhelmed among them for seven days.

Watchman Must Warn

¹⁶ Now at the end of seven days, the word of Adonai came to me saying: ¹⁷ “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me. ¹⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak to warn the wicked of his wicked way, to save his life, that wicked person will die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood from your hand. ¹⁹ Yet you, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul. ²⁰ When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts perversely, I will lay a stumbling block before him and he will die. Because you have not warned him, he will die in his sin. His righteous deeds that he has done will not be remembered—but I will require his blood at your hand. ²¹ If you warn the righteous person not to sin and the righteous person does not sin, he will surely live, because he took warning. You will have delivered your soul.”

²² The hand of Adonai came upon me there. He said to me: “Arise, go out to the valley. I will speak with you there.” ²³ So I arose, and went out to the valley. Behold, the glory of Adonai stood there—like the glory that I saw by the River Chebar—and I fell on my face. ²⁴ The Ruach came into me, and stood me upon my feet. Then He spoke with me and said to me: “Go, shut yourself in your house. ²⁵ You, son of man, behold, ropes will be put on you. You will be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. ²⁶ I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth. You will be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. ²⁷ But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth. You will say to them: ‘Thus says Adonai Elohim.’ he that hears, let him hear. He that refuses to hear, let him refuse—for they are a rebellious house.”