Ezekiel 3
Christian Standard Bible
3 He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find here. Eat this scroll,(A) then go and speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. 3 “Son of man,” he said to me, “feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate it,(B) and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.(C)
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 being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or a difficult language but to the house of Israel— 6 not to the many peoples of unintelligible speech or a difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. No doubt, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.(D) 7 But the house of Israel will not want to listen to you because they do not want to listen to me.(E) For the whole house of Israel is hardheaded and hardhearted. 8 Look, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.(F) 9 I have made your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Don’t be afraid of them or discouraged by the look on their faces, though they are a rebellious house.”
10 Next he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully to all my words that I speak to you and take them to heart. 11 Go to your people, the exiles, and speak to them. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.”(G)
12 The Spirit then lifted me up,(H) and I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me—bless the glory of the Lord in his place!— 13 with the[a] sound of the living creatures’ wings brushing against each other(I) and the sound of the wheels beside them,(J) a loud rumbling sound. 14 The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I left in bitterness and in an angry spirit, and the Lord’s hand was on me powerfully.(K) 15 I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were living by the Chebar Canal, and I sat there among them stunned for seven days.(L)
Ezekiel as a Watchman
16 Now at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me:(M) 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel.(N) When you hear a word from my mouth, give them a warning from me.(O) 18 If I say to the wicked person,(P) ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him—you don’t speak out to warn him about his wicked way in order to save his life—that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. 19 But if you warn a wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have rescued yourself.(Q) 20 Now if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly,(R) and I put a stumbling block in front of him, he will die.(S) If you did not warn him, he will die because of his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. 21 But if you warn the righteous person that he should not sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he listened to your warning, and you will have rescued yourself.”
22 The hand of the Lord was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain,(T) and I will speak with you there.”(U) 23 So I got up and went out to the plain. The Lord’s glory was present there,(V) like the glory I had seen by the Chebar Canal,(W) and I fell facedown. 24 The Spirit entered me and set me on my feet.(X) He spoke with me and said, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you(Y) and bind you with them so you cannot go out among them. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth,(Z) and you will be mute(AA) and unable to be a mediator for[b] them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth,(AB) and you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ Let the one who listens, listen, and let the one who refuses, refuse—for they are a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
3 He said to me, “O mortal, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”(A) 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. 3 He said to me, “Mortal, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey.(B)
4 He said to me, “Mortal, go to the house of Israel and speak my very words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language but to the house of Israel, 6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.(C) 7 But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me, because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart.(D) 8 See, I have made your face hard against their faces and your forehead hard against their foreheads. 9 Like the hardest stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not fear them or be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.”(E) 10 He said to me, “Mortal, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart and hear with your ears; 11 then go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them. Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.”(F)
Ezekiel at the River Chebar
12 Then the spirit lifted me up, and as the glory of the Lord rose[a] from its place, I heard behind me the sound of loud rumbling;(G) 13 it was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against one another and the sound of the wheels beside them that sounded like a loud rumbling. 14 The spirit lifted me up and bore me away; I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me.(H) 15 I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who lived by the River Chebar.[b] And I sat there among them, stunned, for seven days.(I)
16 At the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 Mortal, I have made you a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.(J) 18 When I say to the wicked, “You shall surely die,” and you give them no warning and do not speak to warn the wicked from their wicked way in order to save their lives, those wicked persons shall die for their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand.(K) 19 But if you warn the wicked and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their wicked way, they shall die for their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.(L) 20 Again, if the righteous turn from their righteousness and commit iniquity and I lay a stumbling block before them, they shall die; because you have not warned them, they shall die for their sin, and their righteous deeds that they have done shall not be remembered, but their blood I will require at your hand.(M) 21 If, however, you warn the righteous not to sin and they do not sin, they shall surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved your life.(N)
Ezekiel Isolated and Silenced
22 Then the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and he said to me, “Rise up, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you.”(O) 23 So I rose up and went out into the valley, and the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the River Chebar, and I fell on my face.(P) 24 The spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.(Q) 25 As for you, mortal, cords shall be placed on you, and you shall be bound with them so that you cannot go out among the people,(R) 26 and I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth so that you shall be speechless and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house.(S) 27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God’; let those who will hear, hear, and let those who refuse to hear, refuse, for they are a rebellious house.(T)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.