Ezekiel 3:6–21

⁶not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. ^xSurely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. ^7yBut 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 ^zhave a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. ^8aBehold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹Like ^bemery harder than flint have I made your forehead. ^cFear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, ^dall my words that I shall speak to you receive ^ein your heart, and hear with your ears. ¹¹And go to the exiles, ^fto your people, and speak to them and say to them, ^g‘Thus says the Lord God,’ ^hwhether they hear or refuse to hear.”

¹²ⁱThen the Spirit¹ lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice² of ^ja great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” ¹³It was the sound of the wings of ^kthe living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of ^la great earthquake. ^14mThe Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the ⁿhand of the Lord being strong upon me. ^15oAnd I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling ^oby the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.³ And ^pI sat there ^qoverwhelmed among them ^rseven days.

A Watchman for Israel

^16sAnd at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: ^17t“Son of man, ^uI have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall ^vgive them warning from me. ^18wIf I say to the wicked, ^x‘You shall surely die,’ ^vand you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person ^yshall die for⁴ his iniquity, ^zbut his blood I will require at your hand. ^19aBut if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, ^bbut you ^cwill have delivered your soul. ^20dAgain, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, ^eand I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. ^vBecause you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, ^dand his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, ^zbut his blood I will require at your hand. 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.”