Old/New Testament
3 He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you see in front of you[a]—eat this scroll—and then go and speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth and he fed me the scroll.
3 He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving to you.” So I ate it,[b] and it was sweet like honey in my mouth.
4 He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. 5 For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech[c] and difficult language,[d] but[e] to the house of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand.[f] Surely if[g] I had sent you to them, they would listen to you! 7 But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you,[h] because they are not willing to listen to me,[i] for the whole house of Israel is hardheaded and hardhearted.[j]
8 “I have made your face adamant[k] to match their faces, and your forehead hard to match their foreheads. 9 I have made your forehead harder than flint—like diamond![l] Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you,[m] for they are a rebellious house.”
10 And he said to me, “Son of man, take all my words that I speak to you to heart and listen carefully. 11 Go to the exiles, to your fellow countrymen,[n] and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ whether they pay attention or not.”
Ezekiel Before the Exiles
12 Then a wind lifted me up[o] and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me as the glory of the Lord rose from its place,[p] 13 and the sound of the living beings’ wings brushing against each other, and the sound of the wheels alongside them, a great rumbling sound. 14 A wind lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly,[q] my spirit full of fury, and the hand of the Lord rested powerfully[r] on me. 15 I came to the exiles at Tel Abib,[s] who lived by the Kebar River.[t] I sat dumbfounded among them there, where they were living, for seven days.[u]
16 At the end of seven days the Lord’s message came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman[v] for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’[w] and you do not warn him—you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked lifestyle so that he may live—that wicked person will die for his iniquity,[x] but I will hold you accountable for his death.[y] 19 But as for you, if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wicked deed and from his wicked lifestyle, he will die for his iniquity but you will have saved your own life.[z]
20 “When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle[aa] before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death. 21 However, if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he[ab] does not sin, he will certainly live because he was warned, and you will have saved your own life.”
Isolated and Silenced
22 The hand[ac] of the Lord rested on me there, and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the valley,[ad] and I will speak with you there.” 23 So I got up and went out to the valley, and the glory of the Lord was standing there, just like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River,[ae] and I threw myself face down.
24 Then a wind[af] came into me and stood me on my feet. The Lord[ag] spoke to me and said, “Go shut yourself in your house. 25 As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you and tie you up with them, so you cannot go out among them. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to reprove[ah] them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with you, I will loosen your tongue[ai] and you must say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will refuse,[aj] for they are a rebellious house.
Ominous Object Lessons
4 “And you, son of man, take a brick[ak] and set it in front of you. Inscribe[al] a city on it—Jerusalem. 2 Lay siege to it! Build siege works against it. Erect a siege ramp[am] against it! Post soldiers outside it[an] and station battering rams around it. 3 Then for your part take an iron frying pan[ao] and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face toward it. It is to be under siege; you are to besiege it. This is a sign[ap] for the house of Israel.
4 “Also for your part lie on your left side and place the iniquity[aq] of the house of Israel on it. For the number of days you lie on your side you will bear their iniquity. 5 I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of days[ar] for you—390 days.[as] So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.[at]
6 “When you have completed these days, then lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 40 days[au]—I have assigned one day for each year. 7 You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it. 8 Look here: I will tie you up with ropes, so you cannot turn from one side to the other until you complete the days of your siege.[av]
9 “As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt,[aw] put them in a single container, and make food[ax] from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side—390 days[ay]—you will eat it. 10 The food you eat will be eight ounces[az] a day by weight; you must eat it at fixed times.[ba] 11 And you must drink water by measure, a pint and a half;[bb] you must drink it at fixed times. 12 And you must eat the food as you would a barley cake. You must bake it in front of them over a fire made with dried human excrement.”[bc] 13 And the Lord said, “This is how the people of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nations[bd] where I will banish them.”
14 And I said, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, I have never been ceremonially defiled before. I have never eaten a carcass or an animal torn by wild beasts; from my youth up, unclean meat[be] has never entered my mouth.”
15 So he said to me, “All right then, I will substitute cow’s manure instead of human excrement. You will cook your food over it.”
16 Then he said to me, “Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supply[bf] in Jerusalem. They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror 17 because they will lack bread and water. Each one will be terrified, and they will rot for their iniquity.[bg]
20 By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. 21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped as he leaned on his staff.[a] 22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life,[b] mentioned the exodus of the sons of Israel[c] and gave instructions about his burial.[d]
23 By faith, when Moses was born, his parents hid him[e] for three months, because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith, when he grew up, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure. 26 He regarded abuse suffered for Christ[f] to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on[g] the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt without fearing the king’s anger, for he persevered as though he could see the one who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood,[h] so that the one who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry ground, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after the people marched around them[i] for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of[j] the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace.
32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. 33 Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice,[k] gained what was promised,[l] shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire,[m] escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness,[n] became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, 35 and women received back their dead raised to life.[o] But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life.[p] 36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, sawed apart,[q] murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 38 (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. 39 And these all were commended[r] for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.[s] 40 For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us.[t]
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