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Ezekiel 3:9-5:13
English Standard Version

9 Like (A)emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. (B)Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, (C)all my words that I shall speak to you receive (D)in your heart, and hear with your ears. 11 And go to the exiles, (E)to your people, and speak to them and say to them, (F)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ (G)whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

12 (H)Then the Spirit[a] lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice[b] of (I)a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” 13 It was the sound of the wings of (J)the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of (K)a great earthquake. 14 (L)The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the (M)hand of the Lord being strong upon me. 15 (N)And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling (O)by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.[c] And (P)I sat there (Q)overwhelmed among them (R)seven days.

A Watchman for Israel

16 (S)And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 (T)“Son of man, (U)I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall (V)give them warning from me. 18 (W)If I say to the wicked, (X)‘You shall surely die,’ (Y)and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person (Z)shall die for[d] his iniquity, (AA)but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 (AB)But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, (AC)but you (AD)will have delivered your soul. 20 (AE)Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, (AF)and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. (AG)Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, (AH)and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, (AI)but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

22 (AJ)And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into (AK)the valley,[e] and (AL)there I will speak with you.” 23 So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, (AM)the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen (AN)by the Chebar canal, (AO)and I fell on my face. 24 (AP)But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. 25 And you, O son of man, behold, (AQ)cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that (AR)you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, (AS)for they are a rebellious house. 27 (AT)But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, (AU)‘Thus says the Lord God.’ (AV)He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

4 “And you, (AW)son of man, (AX)take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. 2 (AY)And put siegeworks against it, (AZ)and build a siege wall against it, (BA)and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, (BB)and plant battering rams against it all around. 3 And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; (BC)and set your face toward it, (BD)and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is (BE)a sign for the house of Israel.

4 “Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment[f] of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, (BF)you shall bear their punishment. 5 For I assign to you a number of days, (BG)390 days, (BH)equal to the number of the years of their punishment. (BI)So long shall you bear (BJ)the punishment of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and (BK)bear (BL)the punishment of the house of Judah. (BM)Forty days I assign you, a day for each year. 7 (BN)And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, (BO)with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. 8 And behold, (BP)I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed (BQ)the days of your siege.

9 “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer,[g] and put them into a single vessel and make your (BR)bread from them. (BS)During the number of days that you lie on your side, (BT)390 days, you shall eat it. 10 And your food that you eat shall be (BU)by weight, (BV)twenty shekels[h] a day; from day to day[i] you shall eat it. 11 And water you shall drink (BW)by measure, the sixth part of a hin;[j] from day to day you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it (BX)in their sight on human dung.” 13 And the Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat (BY)their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” 14 Then I said, (BZ)“Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself.[k] (CA)From my youth up till now I have never eaten (CB)what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has (CC)tainted meat come into my mouth.” 15 Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” 16 Moreover, he said to me, (CD)“Son of man, behold, (CE)I will break the supply[l] of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread (CF)by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water (CG)by measure and in dismay. 17 I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and (CH)look at one another in dismay, and (CI)rot away because of their punishment.

Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed

5 “And you, (CJ)O son of man, take a (CK)sharp sword. Use it as (CL)a barber's razor and (CM)pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. 2 (CN)A third part you shall burn in the fire (CO)in the midst of the city, (CP)when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. (CQ)And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and (CR)I will unsheathe the sword after them. 3 (CS)And you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe. 4 (CT)And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.

5 “Thus says the Lord God: (CU)This is Jerusalem. I have set her (CV)in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6 And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness (CW)more than the nations, and against my statutes more than (CX)the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you are (CY)more turbulent than the nations that are all around you, (CZ)and have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, (DA)and have not[m] even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you, 8 therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, (DB)am against you. (DC)And I will execute judgments[n] in your midst (DD)in the sight of the nations. 9 And because of all your abominations I will do with you (DE)what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. 10 Therefore (DF)fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. (DG)And I will execute judgments on you, (DH)and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds. 11 Therefore, (DI)as I live, declares the Lord God, surely, (DJ)because you have defiled my sanctuary (DK)with all your detestable things and with all your (DL)abominations, (DM)therefore I will withdraw.[o] (DN)My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. 12 (DO)A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; (DP)a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; (DQ)and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.

13 (DR)“Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that (DS)I am the Lord—that I have spoken in my jealousy—(DT)when I spend my fury upon them.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 3:12 Or the wind; also verse 14
  2. Ezekiel 3:12 Or sound
  3. Ezekiel 3:15 Or Chebar, and to where they dwelt
  4. Ezekiel 3:18 Or in; also verses 19, 20
  5. Ezekiel 3:22 Or plain; also verse 23
  6. Ezekiel 4:4 Or iniquity; also verses 5, 6, 17
  7. Ezekiel 4:9 A type of wheat
  8. Ezekiel 4:10 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
  9. Ezekiel 4:10 Or at a set time daily; also verse 11
  10. Ezekiel 4:11 A hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters
  11. Ezekiel 4:14 Hebrew my soul (or throat) has never been made unclean
  12. Ezekiel 4:16 Hebrew staff
  13. Ezekiel 5:7 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac lack not
  14. Ezekiel 5:8 The same Hebrew expression can mean obey rules, or execute judgments, depending on the context
  15. Ezekiel 5:11 Some Hebrew manuscripts I will cut you down
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Ezekiel 3:9-5:13
New International Version

9 I will make your forehead(A) like the hardest stone, harder than flint.(B) Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.(C)”

10 And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart(D) all the words I speak to you. 11 Go(E) now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’(F) whether they listen or fail to listen.(G)”

12 Then the Spirit lifted me up,(H) and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place where it was standing.[a] 13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures(I) brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.(J) 14 The Spirit(K) then lifted me up(L) and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord(M) on me. 15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River.(N) And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days(O)—deeply distressed.

Ezekiel’s Task as Watchman

16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me:(P) 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman(Q) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.(R) 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,(S)’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for[b] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(T) 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn(U) from their wickedness(V) or from their evil ways, they will die(W) for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.(X)

20 “Again, when a righteous person turns(Y) from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block(Z) before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(AA) 21 But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.(AB)”

22 The hand of the Lord(AC) was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go(AD) out to the plain,(AE) and there I will speak to you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River,(AF) and I fell facedown.(AG)

24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me(AH) to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.(AI) 25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.(AJ) 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof(AK) of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people.(AL) 27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’(AM) Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.(AN)

Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

4 “Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. 2 Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp(AO) up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it.(AP) 3 Then take an iron pan,(AQ) place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward(AR) it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign(AS) to the people of Israel.(AT)

4 “Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself.[c] You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. 5 I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel.

6 “After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin(AU) of the people of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.(AV) 7 Turn your face(AW) toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her. 8 I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your siege.(AX)

9 “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt;(AY) put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side. 10 Weigh out twenty shekels[d](AZ) of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. 11 Also measure out a sixth of a hin[e] of water and drink it at set times.(BA) 12 Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement(BB) for fuel.” 13 The Lord said, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.”(BC)

14 Then I said, “Not so, Sovereign Lord!(BD) I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead(BE) or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.(BF)”

15 “Very well,” he said, “I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.”

16 He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off(BG) the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,(BH) 17 for food and water will be scarce.(BI) They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of[f] their sin.(BJ)

God’s Razor of Judgment

5 “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor(BK) to shave(BL) your head and your beard.(BM) Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. 2 When the days of your siege come to an end, burn(BN) a third(BO) of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind.(BP) For I will pursue them with drawn sword.(BQ) 3 But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment.(BR) 4 Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire(BS) and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.

5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.(BT) 6 Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.(BU)

7 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even[g] conformed to the standards of the nations around you.(BV)

8 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.(BW) 9 Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.(BX) 10 Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents.(BY) I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.(BZ) 11 Therefore as surely as I live,(CA) declares the Sovereign(CB) Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary(CC) with all your vile images(CD) and detestable practices,(CE) I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you.(CF) 12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds(CG) and pursue with drawn sword.(CH)

13 “Then my anger will cease and my wrath(CI) against them will subside, and I will be avenged.(CJ) And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal.(CK)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 3:12 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text sound—may the glory of the Lord be praised from his place
  2. Ezekiel 3:18 Or in; also in verses 19 and 20
  3. Ezekiel 4:4 Or upon your side
  4. Ezekiel 4:10 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
  5. Ezekiel 4:11 That is, about 2/3 quart or about 0.6 liter
  6. Ezekiel 4:17 Or away in
  7. Ezekiel 5:7 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac You have
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