Ezekiel 3
New American Standard Bible
Ezekiel’s Commission
3 Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; (A)eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I (B)opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and (C)fill your [a]body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I (D)ate it, and it was as sweet as (E)honey in my mouth.
4 Then He said to me, “Son of man, [b]go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. 5 For (F)you are not being sent to a people of [c](G)unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, 6 nor to many peoples of [d]unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. [e]But I have sent you to [f]the people who understand you; 7 yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are (H)not willing to listen to Me. The entire house of Israel certainly is [g]stubborn and obstinate. 8 Behold, I have made your face just as hard as their faces, and your forehead just as hard as their foreheads. 9 Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, since they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My (I)words which I will speak to you and listen [h]closely. 11 [i]Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or [j]not, ‘This is what the Lord [k]God says.’”
12 Then the (J)Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great (K)rumbling sound behind me: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place!” 13 And I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another and the sound of the (L)wheels beside them, even a great rumbling sound. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and (M)the hand of the Lord was strong on me. 15 Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the river Chebar at Tel-abib, and I sat there for (N)seven days where they were living, causing consternation among them.
16 Now (O)at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a (P)watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, (Q)warn them from Me. 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way so that he may live, that wicked person shall die for wrongdoing, but his (R)blood I will require from your hand. 19 However if you have (S)warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die for wrongdoing, but you have (T)saved yourself. 20 Again, (U)when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits sin, and I place an (V)obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require from your hand. 21 However, if you have (W)warned [l]the righteous person that the righteous is not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall certainly live because he took warning; and you have saved yourself.”
22 Now the hand of the Lord was on me there, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will (X)speak to you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold, the (Y)glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory that (Z)I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face. 24 But the (AA)Spirit entered me and set me up on my feet; and He spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 And as for you, son of man, they will (AB)put ropes [m]around you and bind you with them so that you do not go out among them. 26 Moreover, (AC)I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be unable to speak and will not be a man who reprimands them, since they are a rebellious house. 27 But (AD)when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord [n]God says:’ The one who hears, let him hear; and the one who refuses, let him refuse; (AE)for they are a rebellious house.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 3:3 Lit inward parts
- Ezekiel 3:4 Lit go, come
- Ezekiel 3:5 Lit deep lip and heavy tongue
- Ezekiel 3:6 Lit deep lip and heavy tongue
- Ezekiel 3:6 Or I certainly have sent
- Ezekiel 3:6 Lit them, they understand
- Ezekiel 3:7 Lit of a hard forehead and hard of heart
- Ezekiel 3:10 Lit with your ears
- Ezekiel 3:11 Lit Go, come
- Ezekiel 3:11 Lit refrain
- Ezekiel 3:11 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Ezekiel 3:21 Lit him, the righteous
- Ezekiel 3:25 Lit on
- Ezekiel 3:27 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Ezekiel 3
Common English Bible
3 Then he said to me: Human one, eat this thing that you’ve found. Eat this scroll and go, speak to the house of Israel. 2 So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. 3 He said to me: Human one, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you. So I ate it, and in my mouth it became as sweet as honey.
4 Then he said to me: Human one, go! Go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. 5 You aren’t being sent to a people whose language and speech are difficult and obscure but to the house of Israel. 6 No, not to many peoples who speak difficult and obscure languages, whose words you wouldn’t understand. If I did send you to them, they would listen to you. 7 But the house of Israel—they will refuse to listen to you because they refuse to listen to me. The whole house of Israel is hardheaded and hard-hearted too. 8 I’ve now hardened your face so that you can meet them head-on. 9 I’ve made your forehead like a diamond, harder than stone. Don’t be afraid of them or shrink away from them, because they are a household of rebels.
10 He said to me: Human one, listen closely, and take to heart every word I say to you. 11 Then go to the exiles, to your people’s children. Whether they listen or not, speak to them and say: The Lord God proclaims!
12 Then a wind lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great quaking sound from his place. Blessed is the Lord’s glory! 13 The sound was the creatures’ wings beating against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them; it was a great rumbling noise. 14 Then the wind picked me up and took me away. With the Lord’s power pressing down against me I went away, bitter and deeply angry, 15 and I came to the exiles who lived beside the Chebar River at Tel-abib. I stayed there among them for seven desolate days.
16 At the end of the seven days, the Lord’s word came to me: 17 Human one, I’ve made you a lookout for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from me, deliver my warning. 18 If I declare that the wicked will die but you don’t warn them, if you say nothing to warn them from their wicked ways so that they might live, they will die because of their guilt, but I will hold you accountable for their deaths. 19 If you do warn the wicked and they don’t turn from their wickedness or their wicked ways, they will die because of their guilt, but you will save your life.
20 Or suppose righteous people turn away from doing the right thing. If they act dishonestly, and I make them stumble because of it, they will die because you didn’t warn them of their sin. Their righteous deeds won’t be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their deaths. 21 But if you do warn the righteous not to sin, and they don’t sin, they will be declared righteous. Their lives will be preserved because they heeded the warning, and you will save your life.
22 The Lord’s power overcame me, and he said to me: Get up! Go out to the valley, and I’ll speak to you there. 23 So I got up and went out to the valley. Suddenly, the Lord’s glory stood there, like the glory that I had seen at the Chebar River, and I fell on my face. 24 When a wind came to me and stood me on my feet, he spoke to me and said: Go, shut yourself up inside your house. 25 Look at you, human one! They’ve now put cords on you and bound you up so that you can’t go out among them. 26 I’ll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth and take away your ability to speak. You won’t be able to correct them, because they are a household of rebels. 27 But whenever I speak to you, I’ll open your mouth, and you will say to them: The Lord God proclaims. Those who hear will understand, but those who refuse will not. They are just a household of rebels.
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