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The Call of Ezekiel to Speak God’s Words

And he said to me, “Son of man,[a] stand on your feet, so that I can speak with you.” And the Spirit[b] came into me as he was speaking to me, and it set me on my feet, and I heard the one speaking to me. And he said to me, “Son of man,[c] I am sending you to the Israelites,[d] to nations[e] who are rebelling, who rebelled against me, they and their ancestors,[f] they transgressed against me until this very day.[g] And the children[h] are impudent[i] and stubborn,[j] and so I am sending you to them, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh!’ And they, whether they listen or whether they fail to listen, for they are a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet was in their midst. And you, son of man,[k] you must not be afraid of them, and you must not be afraid of their words, because[l] briers and thorns are with you, and you are sitting among scorpions. You must not be afraid of their words, and you must not be dismayed because of their looks,[m] for they are a rebellious house. And you must speak my words to them whether they listen or whether they fail to listen, for they are rebellious. And you, son of man,[n] hear what I am speaking to you: you must not be rebellious like the house of rebellion. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving to you.” And I looked,[o] and look! There was a hand stretched out to me, and look! In it was a scroll with writing.[p] 10 And he rolled it out[q] before me,[r] and it was written on the front and back, and there were written on it laments and mourning and wailing.[s]

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 2:1 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  2. Ezekiel 2:2 Or “a spirit”
  3. Ezekiel 2:3 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  4. Ezekiel 2:3 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  5. Ezekiel 2:3 Or “a people”
  6. Ezekiel 2:3 Hebrew “fathers”
  7. Ezekiel 2:3 Literally “until the day the this”
  8. Ezekiel 2:4 Or “sons”
  9. Ezekiel 2:4 Literally “hard of face”
  10. Ezekiel 2:4 Literally “strong of heart”
  11. Ezekiel 2:6 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  12. Ezekiel 2:6 Or “although”
  13. Ezekiel 2:6 Literally “faces”
  14. Ezekiel 2:8 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  15. Ezekiel 2:9 Or “saw”
  16. Ezekiel 2:9 Literally “a scroll of a book”
  17. Ezekiel 2:10 Or “he spread it out”
  18. Ezekiel 2:10 Literally “to the face of me”
  19. Ezekiel 2:10 Or “woe”

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.