1And he said to me, “Son of Adam, eat what you find;
eat this scroll, then go
and speak to the house of Israel.”
2So I opened my mouth, and he fed me that scroll.
3Then he said to me, “Son of Adam, feed your stomach and fill your bowels with this scroll which I am giving you.” So I ate
it, and
it was like honey in my mouth because of its sweetness.
4And he said to me, “Son of Adam, depart; go to the house of Israel, and speak to them with my words.
5For you are not being sent to a people of an unintelligible language or of a difficult tongue,
but to the house of Israel
6– not to many nations of an unintelligible language or a difficult tongue whose words you would not understand.
But it is certain
that if I had sent you to them, they would have heeded you.
7But the house of Israel will not be willing to heed you, for they are not willing to heed me, for the whole house of Israel
is impudent and obstinate.
8Look, I have made you firm in resolve against their resolve, and you strong in determination against their determination.
9As diamond
is harder than flint,
so I have made your determination. Do not be afraid of them and do not fear them, although they
are a rebellious house.”
10And he said to me, “Son of Adam, take to your heart all the words which I speak to you, and hear with your ears.
11And depart and go to the deportees, to the sons of your people, and speak to them, and say to them, ‘This
is what my
Lord the
Lord says’, whether they heed
it, or whether they decline
to do so.”
12Then the spirit took me up, and I heard the sound of a loud rushing noise behind me,
saying, “Blessed
be the glory of the
Lord in its
own place.”
13And
I heard the sound of the wings of the beings touching each other, and the sound of the wheels in concert with them, and a loud rushing sound.
14And the spirit lifted me up and took me along, and I went
feeling bitter in my exasperation, but the strong hand of the
Lord was on me.
15And I went to the deportees
in Tel-Abib, who lived at the River Chebar, and I sat where they sat for seven days in astonishment among them.
16And it came to pass after seven days that the word of the
Lord came to me and said,
17“Son of Adam, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel, and you will hear the word from my mouth, and you will give them warning on my behalf.
18When I say to the wicked
man, ‘You will certainly die’, but
when you haven't warned him, and you haven't spoken so as to warn the wicked
man to turn from his wicked way, so as to preserve his life, that wicked
man will die in his iniquity, and I will require his blood from your hand.
19But if you do warn the wicked
man, yet he does not turn away from his wickedness and from his evil way, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
20And if a righteous
man turns away from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he did will not be remembered, and I will require his blood at your hand.
21But if you do warn the righteous that the righteous must not sin, and he does not sin, he will certainly live, because he was warned, and you will have saved your life.”
22And the hand of the
Lord was on me there, and he said to me, “Arise, go out to the valley, and I will speak with you there.”
23So I arose and went out to the valley, and what
I saw
was the glory of the
Lord standing there, like the glory which I saw at the River Chebar, and I fell face down.
24Then the spirit entered me and stood me up on my feet and spoke with me and said to me, “Go
and shut yourself up inside your house.
25And you, son of Adam, be aware that they will put you in bonds and bind you with them so that you will not
be able to go out among those
people.
26And I will make your tongue stick to your palate, and you will become mute, and they will not have anyone to convict
them, for they
are a rebellious house.
27Then when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you will say to them, ‘This
is what my
Lord the
Lord says: «Let him who hears, hear, and let him who declines to, decline» ’, for they
are a rebellious house.
Reference(s) in Chapter 3: v.1 ↔ Revelation 10:9 ● v.3 ↔ Revelation 10:9.