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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 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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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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The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’
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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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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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You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel—
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not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
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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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Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.”
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I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days—deeply distressed.
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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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But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.
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Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the people of Israel.
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“Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side.
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I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel.
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The Lord said, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.”
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Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.
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“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.
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“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even conformed to the standards of the nations around you.
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“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.
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“I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.
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Doom for the Mountains of Israel
The word of the Lord came to me:
