Ezekiel 2:1-3:15

New King James Version

Ezekiel Called to Be a Prophet

2 And He said to me, “Son of man, ^(A)stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” ² Then ^(B)the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. ³ And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has ^(C)rebelled against Me; ^(D)they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. ^4 (E)For they are ^[a]impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ^5 (F)As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a ^(G)rebellious house—yet they ^(H)will know that a prophet has been among them.

⁶ “And you, son of man, ^(I)do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though ^(J)briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; ^(K)do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, ^(L)though they are a rebellious house. ^7 (M)You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. ⁸ But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and ^(N)eat what I give you.”

⁹ Now when I looked, there was ^(O)a hand stretched out to me; and behold, ^(P)a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰ Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

The Responsibility of the Prophet

3 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; ^(Q)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 ^(R)ate, and it was in my mouth ^(S)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, ^(T)had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will not listen to you, ^(U)because they will not listen to Me; ^(V)for all the house of Israel are ^[b]impudent and hard-hearted. ⁸ Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. ^9 (W)Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; ^(X)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, ^(Y)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”

¹² Then ^(Z)the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: “Blessed is the ^(AA)glory of the Lord from His place!” ¹³ I also heard the ^(AB)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 ^[c]heat of my spirit; but ^(AC)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 ^(AD)I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.