Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find. Eat this scroll and go speak to the house of Israel.”
So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll.
And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” Then I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them.
For you are not sent to a people of a foreign speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;
not to many peoples of a foreign speech and of a hard language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.
But the house of Israel will not listen to you, for they will not listen to me; for all the house of Israel have hard foreheads and stubborn hearts.
Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads.
I have made your forehead like a stone harder than flint; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, even though they are a rebellious house.”
Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I speak to you, receive in your heart and hear with your ears.
And go to the exiles, to the children of your people, and speak to them. And whether they will hear or whether they will refuse to hear, say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says.’”
Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great rumbling as the glory of Yahweh rose from its place.”
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.
So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of Yahweh was strong on me.
Then I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Chebar canal, and I sat there among them where they lived, overwhelmed for seven days.
A Watchman for Israel
And at the end of seven days the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel, so hear the word from my mouth and give them warning from me.
When I tell the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life, that same wicked man will die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
Yet if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he will die. Because you have not given him warning, he will die in his sin and his righteous deeds that he has done will not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.
Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered your soul.”
The hand of Yahweh was on me there, and he said to me, “Arise, go out into the broad valley, and I will talk with you there.”
Then I arose and went out into the valley; and behold, the glory of Yahweh stood there, like the glory that I saw by the Chebar canal; and I fell on my face.
Then the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself inside your house.
But you, son of man, behold, they will put ropes on you and will bind you with them so you cannot go out among them;
and I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute and will not be to them a reprover; for they are a rebellious house.
But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you will tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says.’ The one who hears, let him hear, and the one who refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.”