Ezekiel 2:3-3:11

English Standard Version

³ And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to ^(A)nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. ^(B)They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. ⁴ The descendants also are ^(C)impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ⁵ And ^(D)whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are ^(E)a rebellious house) ^(F)they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ And you, son of man, ^(G)be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, ^(H)though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on ^(I)scorpions.^[a] Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷ And you shall speak my words to them, ^(J)whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

⁸ “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. ^(K)Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and ^(L)eat what I give you.” ⁹ And when I looked, behold, ^(M)a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, ^(N)a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰ And he spread it before me. And it had writing ^(O)on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

3 And he said to me, ^(P)“Son of man, eat whatever you find here. ^(Q)Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” ^(R)Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth ^(S)as sweet as honey.

⁴ And he said to me, ^(T)“Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. ⁵ For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— ⁶ not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. ^(U)Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. ^7 (V)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 ^(W)have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. ^8 (X)Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹ Like ^(Y)emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. ^(Z)Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰ Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, ^(AA)all my words that I shall speak to you receive ^(AB)in your heart, and hear with your ears. ¹¹ And go to the exiles, ^(AC)to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ^(AD)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ ^(AE)whether they hear or refuse to hear.”