Ezekiel 3, verse 1. Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll, and go and speak to the children of Israel.” Ezekiel 3, verse 2. So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. Ezekiel 3, verse 3. Then He said to me, “Son of man, your mouth shall eat and your stomach will be filled with this scroll that is given you.” So I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. Ezekiel 3, verse 4. Then He said to me, “Son of man, go! Go to the house of Israel, and speak My words to them. Ezekiel 3, verse 5. For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and obscure language, but to the house of Israel. Ezekiel 3, verse 6. Neither are you sent to many peoples speaking a foreign language or using strange tongues, nor to a people of heavy speech, whose words you would not understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. Ezekiel 3, verse 7. But the house of Israel shall be unwilling to listen to you, because they are unwilling to listen to Me; for all the house of Israel is argumentative and hard-hearted. Ezekiel 3, verse 8. Behold, I have made your face to be strong against their faces, and I will strengthen your case against their arguments. Ezekiel 3, verse 9. Your argument shall be continually stronger than a rock. Do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their faces; for they are a house of provocation.” Ezekiel 3, verse 10. Again He said to me, “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words I have spoken to you, and listen with your ears. Ezekiel 3, verse 11. Go! Go to the captives, to the children of your people, and you shall speak to them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,’ whether they listen or whether they refuse.” Ezekiel 3, verse 12. Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: “Blessed is the glory of the Lord from His place.” Ezekiel 3, verse 13. I also perceived the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they clapped one to the other, and the sound of the wheels nearby, and the sound of the earth quaking. Ezekiel 3, verse 14. Then the Spirit moved me and raised me up, and I went forth under the impulse of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. Ezekiel 3, verse 15. Thus lifted up, I then entered among the captivity and circulated among those who were dwelling by the River Chebar. I sat there for seven days, holding conversation in their midst.
Ezekiel Made a Watchman
Ezekiel 3, verse 16. Again it came to pass, after seven days, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezekiel 3, verse 17. “Son of man, I made you a watchman for the house of Israel, and you will hear a word from My mouth and shall threaten them from Me: Ezekiel 3, verse 18. When I say to the lawless, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you do not give him explicit warning, nor speak to warn the lawless to turn from his ways so he may live, that lawless man shall die in his unrighteousness; but his blood I will require at your hand. Ezekiel 3, verse 19. However, if you warn the lawless, and he does not turn from his lawlessness, nor from his way, that lawless man shall die in his unrighteousness; but you delivered your soul. Ezekiel 3, verse 20. Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits a transgression, and I put him to the test, he shall die, because you did not give him explicit warning. He shall die in his sins, and his righteous deeds which he did shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. Ezekiel 3, verse 21. But if you explicitly warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, the righteous man shall live, because you explicitly warned him; and you will deliver your own soul.” Ezekiel 3, verse 22. Again the hand of the Lord came upon me, and He said to me, “Arise and go out into the plain, and there you will be spoken to.” Ezekiel 3, verse 23. So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, just like the vision and just like the glory I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. Ezekiel 3, verse 24. Then the Spirit came upon me and set me on my feet, and said to me, “Go inside and shut yourself within your house. Ezekiel 3, verse 25. As for you, son of man, behold, chains are appointed for you, and they will put you in them so you cannot go out from their midst. Ezekiel 3, verse 26. I shall bind your tongue, and you will become deaf. You will not be for them as a man to convict them, for they are a house of provocation. Ezekiel 3, verse 27. But when I speak with you, I shall open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who disobeys, let him disobey; for it is a house of provocation.