Eat the Scroll

Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find—eat this scroll. Then go, speak to the house of Israel.”

Then He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak My words to them.

For you are not sent to a people of unintelligible speech and difficult tongue, but to the house of Israel,

But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel has a hard forehead and a stubborn heart.

“Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.

Then take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face toward it so that it is under siege. So you will lay siege against it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.

“Then you are to lie on your left side, and set on it the punishment of the house of Israel; according to the number of days that you lie on it, you will bear their iniquity.

I have appointed the years of their punishment to you as a number of days—390 days. So you will bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

Again take some of them, throw them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. A fire will spread from it into all the house of Israel.”

“Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy to them.

Say: mountains of Israel, hear the word of Adonai!” Thus says Adonai Elohim concerning the mountains and concerning the hills, concerning the wadis and concerning the valleys: “Behold, I will bring a sword on you. I will destroy your high places.

Thus says Adonai Elohim: “Clap your hands, stamp your foot and cry, ‘Alas!’ because of all the vile abominations of the house of Israel who will fall by the sword, by famine and by plague.

“You, son of man, thus says Adonai Elohim concerning the land of Israel: An end! The end has come on the four corners of the land.

Behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the valley.

He said to me: “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing here, that drives me far off from My own Sanctuary? But you will see even greater abominations.”

So I went in and saw, behold, every detestable image of creeping things and beasts and all the idols of the house of Israel, engraved on the surrounding walls.

Standing there before them were 70 men of the elders of the house of Israel, Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing in their midst, each man with his censer in his hand. A thick cloud of incense went up.

Then He said to me: “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chamber of his carved idol? For they say, ‘Adonai does not see us. Adonai has forsaken the land.’”

Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cheruv, where it had been, to the threshold of the House. He called to the man clothed in linen, who had the scribe’s inkhorn at his side.

While they were out killing, and I was left alone, I fell on my face and cried out saying, “Alas, Adonai Elohim! Are you going to destroy all the remnant of Israel by pouring out Your wrath upon Jerusalem?”

He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great; the land is full of blood and the city is full of corruption. For they say, ‘Adonai has forsaken the land, Adonai does not see!’

The cheruvim lifted up their wings and arose from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels went with them. They stood still at the door of the east gate of Adonai’s House. The glory of the God of Israel was over them from above.

They were the living creatures that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar. I knew that they were cheruvim.

Then the Ruach Adonai fell upon me and said to me, “Speak! Thus Adonai says: So you are thinking, house of Israel—for I know the thoughts that come into your mind.

You will fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel. So you will know that I am Adonai.