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
Complete Jewish Bible
3 He said to me, “Human being, eat what you see in front of you; eat this scroll. Then go and speak to the house of Isra’el.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat, 3 as he said, “Human being, eat this scroll I am giving you; fill your insides with it.” When I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey.
4 “Human being,” he said to me, “go to the house of Isra’el, and speak my words to them. 5 For you are not being sent to a people with a difficult language and unintelligible speech, but to the house of Isra’el — 6 not to many peoples with difficult languages and unintelligible speech, whose words you can’t understand when you hear them. Without doubt, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you. 7 But the house of Isra’el will not be willing to listen to you, because they aren’t willing to listen to me; since all the house of Isra’el are obstinate and hardhearted. 8 However, I am making you as defiant and obstinate as they are. 9 Yes, I am making your resoluteness harder than flint, as hard as a diamond. So don’t be afraid of them or depressed by how they look at you, because they are a rebellious house.”
10 Then he said to me, “Human being, receive in your heart and hear with your ears all my words that I speak to you. 11 Then go to the exiles, to your countrymen; and speak to them. Tell them, ‘Here is what Adonai Elohim, says,’ whether they listen or not.”
12 A spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a very loud sound — blessed be the glory of Adonai from his place! 13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they beat against each other, and the sound of the wheels next to them, a very loud sound. 14 So a spirit lifted me up and took me away. I went in bitterness and the heat of my spirit, with the hand of Adonai strong on me.
15 I went to the exiles who were living in Tel-Aviv, by the K’var River and stayed with them there in a stupefied state for seven days. 16 After seven days the word of Adonai came to me: 17 “Human being, I have appointed you to be a watchman for the house of Isra’el. When you hear a word from my mouth, you are to warn them for me. 18 If I say to a wicked person, ‘You will certainly die’; and you fail to warn him, to speak and warn the wicked person to leave his wicked way and save his life; then that wicked person will die guilty; and I will hold you responsible for his death. 19 On the other hand, if you warn the wicked person, and he doesn’t turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, then he will still die guilty; but you will have saved your own life. 20 Similarly, when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits wickedness, I will place a stumblingblock before him — he will die; because you failed to warn him, he will die in his sin; his righteous acts which he did will not be remembered; and I will hold you responsible for his death. 21 But if you warn the righteous person that a righteous person should not sin, and he doesn’t sin; then he will certainly live, because he took the warning; and you too will have saved your life.”
22 The hand of Adonai came on me there, and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the valley, and I will speak with you there.” 23 So I got up and went out to the valley. The glory of Adonai was there, like the glory I had seen by the K’var River; and I fell on my face. 24 A spirit entered me and put me on my feet. Then he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 Human being, you are going to be bound with ropes, unable to go out among the people. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, so that you will be mute, unable to reprove them; for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth; and you will say to them, ‘This is what Adonai Elohim says.’ Whoever is inclined to listen will listen, and whoever is inclined to refuse will refuse, because they are a rebellious house.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.