1And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” (Eze 2:1; Eze 2:8)2So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat.3And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. (Ps 19:10; Ps 119:103; Jer 15:16; Re 10:9)4And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. (Eze 2:1)5For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel—6not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. (Mt 11:21; Mt 11:23)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 have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. (Eze 2:4; Joh 15:20)8Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. (Jer 1:18)9Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” (Isa 50:7; Eze 2:6)10Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. (Jer 26:2; Eze 3:3)11And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.” (Eze 2:7; Eze 3:27; Eze 33:2; Eze 33:12; Eze 33:17; Eze 33:30)12Then the Spirit[1] lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice[2] of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” (Eze 1:24; Eze 8:3; Eze 11:1; Eze 11:24; Eze 37:1; Eze 43:5)13It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake. (Eze 1:5; Eze 1:15; Eze 1:24)14The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me. (Eze 1:3; Eze 8:3; Eze 11:1; Eze 11:24; Eze 37:1; Eze 43:5)15And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.[3] And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days. (Ge 50:10; 1Sa 31:13; Job 2:13; Ps 137:1; Isa 52:14; Jer 14:9; La 2:10; Eze 1:1; Eze 4:17)
A Watchman for Israel
16And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: (Jer 42:7)17“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. (2Ki 6:10; 2Ch 19:10; Isa 52:8; Isa 56:10; Jer 6:17; Eze 2:1; Eze 3:18; Eze 33:4; Eze 33:7; Heb 13:17)18If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for[4] his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. (Ge 2:17; Jer 31:30; Eze 3:17; Eze 3:20; Eze 18:13; Eze 18:18; Eze 33:6; Eze 33:8; Eze 34:10; Joh 8:21; Joh 8:24; Ac 18:6; Ac 20:26)19But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. (Eze 14:14; Eze 14:20; Eze 33:9; 1Ti 4:16)20Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. (Jer 6:21; Eze 3:17; Eze 3:18; Eze 18:24)21But 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.”22And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley,[5] and there I will speak with you.” (Ge 11:2; Eze 1:3; Eze 8:4; Eze 37:1; Ac 9:6; Ac 22:10)23So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face. (Eze 1:1; Eze 1:28)24But 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. (Eze 2:2)25And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. (Eze 4:8)26And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. (Isa 8:16; Eze 2:3)27But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house. (Eze 3:11; Eze 24:27; Eze 29:21; Re 22:11)