Ezekiel 3
3 1And he said unto me, Son of man, eat that which thou findest; eat
this roll, and go, speak unto the house of Israel.
2So I opened my mouth,
and he caused me to eat the roll.
3And he said unto me, Son of man, cause
thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then
did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
4And he said
unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my
words unto them.
5For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech
and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;
6not to many peoples
of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not
understand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they would hearken unto thee.
7But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not
hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are of hard forehead and of a
stiff heart.
8Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and
thy forehead hard against their foreheads.
9As an adamant harder than
flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their
looks, though they are a rebellious house.
10Moreover he said unto me,
Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thy heart,
and hear with thine ears.
11And go, get thee to them of the captivity,
unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus
saith the Lord Jehovah; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
12Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a
great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of Jehovah from his
place.
13And I heard the noise of the wings of the living
creatures as they touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside
them, even the noise of a great rushing.
14So the Spirit lifted me up,
and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and the
hand of Jehovah was strong upon me.
15Then I came to them of the
captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river Chebar, and to where they
dwelt; and I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.
16And it came
to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of Jehovah came unto me,
saying,
17Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of
Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
18When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him
not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his
life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I
require at thy hand.
19Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from
his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but
thou hast delivered thy soul.
20Again, when a righteous man doth turn
from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock
before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall
die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be
remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
21Nevertheless if
thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin,
he shall surely live, because he took warning; and thou hast delivered thy
soul.
22And the hand of Jehovah was there upon me; and he said unto me,
Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.
23Then I
arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of Jehovah stood
there, as the glory which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.
24Then the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet; and he spake
with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thy house.
25But thou,
son of man, behold, they shall lay bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with
them, and thou shalt not go out among them:
26and I will make thy tongue
cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to
them a reprover; for they are a rebellious house.
27But when I speak with
thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the
Lord Jehovah: He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him
forbear: for they are a rebellious house.