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)
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.
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.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible