Mission to Rebellious Israel

He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet(A) and I will speak with you.” As He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet,(B) and I listened to the One who was speaking to me. He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to[a] the rebellious pagans[b] who have rebelled against Me. The Israelites and their ancestors have transgressed against Me to this day.(C) The children are obstinate[c] and hardhearted.(D) I am sending you to them, and you must say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ Whether they listen or refuse to listen(E)—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.(F)

“But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words,(G) though briers and thorns are beside you and you live among scorpions.(H) Don’t be afraid of their words or be discouraged by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house. But speak My words to them whether they listen or refuse to listen,(I) for they are rebellious.

“And you, son of man, listen to what I tell you: Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”(J) So I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me,(K) and there was a written scroll in it.(L) 10 When He unrolled it before me, it was written on the front and back; words of lamentation, mourning, and woe were written on it.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 2:3 Or Israelites [and] to
  2. Ezekiel 2:3 LXX omits to the rebellious pagans
  3. Ezekiel 2:4 Lit hard of face

Ezekiel’s commissioning

The voice said to me: Human one, stand on your feet, and I’ll speak to you. As he spoke to me, a wind[a] came to me and stood me on my feet, and I heard someone addressing me. He said to me: Human one, I’m sending you to the Israelites, a traitorous and rebellious people. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day. I’m sending you to their hardheaded and hard-hearted descendants, and you will say to them: The Lord God proclaims. Whether they listen or whether they refuse, since they are a household of rebels, they will know that a prophet has been among them.

And as for you, human one, don’t be afraid of them or their words. Don’t be afraid! You possess thistles and thorns that subdue scorpions.[b] Don’t be afraid of their words or shrink from their presence, because they are a household of rebels. You’ll speak my words to them whether they listen or whether they refuse. They are just a household[c] of rebels!

As for you, human one, listen to what I say to you. Don’t become rebellious like that household of rebels. Open your mouth and eat what I give you. Then I looked, and there in a hand stretched out to me was a scroll. 10 He spread it open in front of me, and it was filled with writing on both sides, songs of mourning, lamentation, and doom.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 2:2 Or spirit
  2. Ezekiel 2:6 Or thistles and thorns are with you, and you sit on scorpions.
  3. Ezekiel 2:7 LXX, Syr, Tg; MT lacks household.