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the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the Lord was on him.
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I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal,
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I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.
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Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
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Ezekiel’s Call to Be a Prophet
He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”
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As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
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He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.
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Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll,
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which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.
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And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.”
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So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
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Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
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He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.
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But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.
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And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you.
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Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place where it was standing.
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The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord on me.
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Ezekiel’s Task as Watchman
At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me:
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“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.
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The hand of the Lord was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you.”
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Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.
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Also measure out a sixth of a hin of water and drink it at set times.
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Then I said, “Not so, Sovereign Lord! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.”
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He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,
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Doom for the Mountains of Israel
The word of the Lord came to me:
