Ezekiel 3

English Standard Version

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

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

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

A Watchman for Israel

¹⁶^(AB)And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷^(AC)“Son of man, ^(AD)I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall ^(AE)give them warning from me. ¹⁸^(AF)If I say to the wicked, ^(AG)‘You shall surely die,’ ^(AH)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 ^(AI)shall die for^[d] his iniquity, ^(AJ)but his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹^(AK)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, ^(AL)but you ^(AM)will have delivered your soul. ²⁰^(AN)Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, ^(AO)and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. ^(AP)Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, ^(AQ)and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, ^(AR)but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹But 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^(AS)And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into ^(AT)the valley,^[e] and ^(AU)there I will speak with you.” ²³So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, ^(AV)the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen ^(AW)by the Chebar canal, ^(AX)and I fell on my face. ²⁴^(AY)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. ²⁵And you, O son of man, behold, ^(AZ)cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. ²⁶And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that ^(BA)you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, ^(BB)for they are a rebellious house. ²⁷^(BC)But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ^(BD)‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ^(BE)He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

Footnotes

Ezekiel 3:12 Or the wind; also verse 14
Ezekiel 3:12 Or sound
Ezekiel 3:15 Or Chebar, and to where they dwelt
Ezekiel 3:18 Or in; also verses 19, 20
Ezekiel 3:22 Or plain; also verse 23

Psalm 39

English Standard Version

What Is the Measure of My Days?

To the choirmaster: to ^(A)Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

39 I said, “I will ^(B)guard my ways,
    that I ^(C)may not sin with my tongue;
I will ^(D)guard my mouth with a muzzle,
    so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
²I was ^(E)mute and silent;
    I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
³    My ^(F)heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
    then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“O Lord, ^(G)make me know my end
    and what is the measure of my days;
    let me know how fleeting I am!
⁵Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and ^(H)my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely ^(I)all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
⁶    Surely a man ^(J)goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing^[a] they are in turmoil;
    man ^(K)heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

⁷“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    ^(L)My hope is in you.
⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions.
    ^(M)Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
⁹^(N)I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
    ^(O)for it is you who have done it.
¹⁰^(P)Remove your stroke from me;
    I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
¹¹When you discipline a man
    with ^(Q)rebukes for sin,
you ^(R)consume like a ^(S)moth what is dear to him;
    ^(T)surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

¹²^(U)“Hear my prayer, O Lord,
    and give ear to my cry;
    hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am ^(V)a sojourner with you,
    ^(W)a guest, like all my fathers.
¹³^(X)Look away from me, that I may smile again,
    ^(Y)before I depart and ^(Z)am no more!”