1
And he said to me, 1"Son of man, eat whatever you find here. 2Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel."
2
So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat.
3
And he said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it."3Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth 4as sweet as honey.
4
And he said to me, 5"Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them.
5
For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel--
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not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. 6Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you.
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7But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel 8have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart.
8
9Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.
9
Like 10emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. 11Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house."
10
Moreover, he said to me, "Son of man, 12all my words that I shall speak to you receive 13in your heart, and hear with your ears.
11
And go to the exiles, 14to your people, and speak to them and say to them, 15'Thus says the Lord GOD,'16whether they hear or refuse to hear."
12
17Then the Spirita lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voiceb of 18a great earthquake: "Blessed be the glory of the LORD from its place!"
13
It was the sound of the wings of 19the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of 20a great earthquake.
14
21The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the 22hand of the LORD being strong upon me.
15
23And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling 24by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.c And 25I sat there 26overwhelmed among them 27seven days.
A Watchman for Israel
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28And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me:
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29"Son of man, 30I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall 31give them warning from me.
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32If I say to the wicked, 33'You shall surely die,'34and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person 35shall die ford his iniquity, 36but his blood I will require at your hand.
19
37But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, 38but you 39will have delivered your soul.
20
40Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, 41and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. 42Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, 43and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, 44but his blood I will require at your hand.
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But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul."
22
45And the hand of the LORD was upon me there. And he said to me, "Arise, go out into 46the valley,e and 47there I will speak with you."
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So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, 48the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory that I had seen 49by the Chebar canal, 50and I fell on my face.
24
51But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, "Go, shut yourself within your house.
25
And you, O son of man, behold, 52cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)