Ezekiel 2–3

Chapter 2

The Prophet’s Call

¹Then He said to me, “Son of man, ^astand on your feet that I may speak with you!”

²As He spoke to me the ^aSpirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me.

³Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have ^arebelled against Me; ^bthey and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.

⁴“I am sending you to them who are ^1astubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord ²God.’

⁵“As for them, ^awhether they listen or ¹not—for they are a rebellious house—they will ^bknow that a prophet has been among them.

⁶“And you, son of man, ^aneither fear them nor fear their words, though ^bthistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house.

⁷“But you shall ^aspeak My words to them ^bwhether they listen or ¹not, for they are rebellious.

⁸“Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and ^aeat what I am giving you.”

⁹Then I looked, and behold, a ^ahand was extended to me; and lo, a ^1bscroll was in it.

¹⁰When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and ^awoe.

Chapter 3

Ezekiel’s Commission

¹Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; ^aeat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”

²So I ^aopened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll.

³He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and ^afill your ¹body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ^bate it, and it was sweet as ^choney in my mouth.

⁴Then He said to me, “Son of man, ¹go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.

⁵“For ^ayou are not being sent to a people of ^1bunintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel,

⁶nor to many peoples of ¹unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. ²But I have sent you to them ³who should listen to you;

⁷yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are ^anot willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is ¹stubborn and obstinate.

⁸“Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

⁹“Like ¹emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house.”

¹⁰Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My ^awords which I will speak to you and listen ¹closely.

¹¹“¹Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or ²not, ‘Thus says the Lord ³God.’ ”

¹²Then the ^aSpirit lifted me up, and I heard a great ^brumbling sound behind me, “Blessed be the glory of the Lord ¹in His place.”

¹³And I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another and the sound of the ^awheels beside them, even a great rumbling sound.

¹⁴So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and ^athe hand of the Lord was strong on me.

¹⁵Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the river Chebar at Tel-abib, and I sat there ^aseven days where they were living, causing consternation among them.

^16aAt the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

¹⁷“Son of man, I have appointed you a ^awatchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, ^bwarn them from Me.

¹⁸“When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his ^ablood I will require at your hand.

¹⁹“Yet if you have ^awarned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have ^bdelivered yourself.

²⁰“Again, ^awhen a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an ^bobstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.

²¹“However, if you have ^awarned ¹the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself.”

²²The hand of the Lord was on me there, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will ^aspeak to you.”

²³So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold, the ^aglory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory which ^bI saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face.

²⁴The ^aSpirit then entered me and made me stand on my feet, and He spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself up in your house.

²⁵“As for you, son of man, they will ^aput ropes on you and bind you with them so that you cannot go out among them.

²⁶“Moreover, ^aI will make your tongue stick to ¹the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute and cannot be a man who rebukes them, for they are a rebellious house.

²⁷“But ^awhen I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord ¹God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; ^bfor they are a rebellious house.