The Call of Ezekiel to Speak God’s Words

2 And he said to me, “Son of man,[fn] stand on your feet, so that I can speak with you.” 2 And the Spirit[fn] came into me as he was speaking to me, and it set me on my feet, and I heard the one speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man,[fn] I am sending you to the Israelites,[fn] to nations[fn] who are rebelling, who rebelled against me, they and their ancestors,[fn] they transgressed against me until this very day.[fn] 4 And the children[fn] are impudent[fn] and stubborn,[fn] and so I am sending you to them, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh!’ 5 And they, whether they listen or whether they fail to listen, for they are a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet was in their midst. 6 And you, son of man,[fn] you must not be afraid of them, and you must not be afraid of their words, because[fn] briers and thorns are with you, and you are sitting among scorpions. You must not be afraid of their words, and you must not be dismayed because of their looks,[fn] for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you must speak my words to them whether they listen or whether they fail to listen, for they are rebellious. 8 And you, son of man,[fn] hear what I am speaking to you: you must not be rebellious like the house of rebellion. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving to you.” 9 And I looked,[fn] and look! There was a hand stretched out to me, and look! In it was a scroll with writing.[fn] 10 And he rolled it out[fn] before me,[fn] and it was written on the front and back, and there were written on it laments and mourning and wailing.[fn]

3 And he said to me, “Son of man,[fn] what you find, eat! Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 And I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat, 3 and he said to me, “Son of man,[fn] you must give your stomach this to eat, and you must fill your belly with this scroll that I am giving to you.” And I ate, and it became like sweet honey[fn] in my mouth. 4 And he said to me, “Son of man,[fn] come! Go to the house of Israel, and you must speak to them with my words. 5 For you are sent to the house of Israel, not to a people of obscure speech[fn] and of a difficult language,[fn] 6 and not to many nations of obscure speech[fn] and a difficult language[fn] whose words[fn] you do not understand, for if I had sent you to them they would have listened to you. 7 And the house of Israel, they are not willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me, for all of the house of Israel is hard of forehead, and they are hard of heart. 8 But look, I have made[fn] your face hard against[fn] their faces and your forehead hard against[fn] their forehead. 9 Like a diamond harder than flint[fn] I have made your forehead; you must not fear them, and you must not be dismayed on account of them,[fn] for they are a rebellious house.[fn] 10 And he said to me, “Son of man,[fn] all of my words that I shall speak to you, receive into[fn] your heart and hear with your ears. 11 And come, go to the exiles,[fn] to the children[fn] of your people, and you must speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh!’ whether they listen or whether they fail to listen.” 12 And the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great earthquake when the glory of Yahweh rose from its place. 13 And it was the sound of the wings of the living creatures touching lightly[fn] one against the other,[fn] and the sound of the wheels beside them and the sound of a great earthquake. 14 And the Spirit lifted me and took me, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of Yahweh was strong on me. 15 And I went to the exiles[fn] at Tel Abib, who were dwelling near the Kebar River,[fn] and I sat where they were dwelling. I sat there seven days in the midst of them, stunned. 16 And then it happened[fn] at the end of seven days, the word of Yahweh came[fn] to me, saying, 17 “Son of man,[fn] I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me. 18 When I say[fn] to the wicked, ‘Surely you will die,’ and you do not warn him and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way so that he may live,[fn] that wicked person will die because of his guilt, and from your hand I will seek his blood. 19 And you, if you do warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness and from his wicked way, on account of his guilt he will die, and you yourself will have saved your life.[fn] 20 And when the righteous turns from his righteousness[fn] and does injustice, and I place[fn] a stumbling block before him,[fn] he will die, for you did not warn him. Because of his sin he will die, and his righteousness[fn] that he did will not be remembered, and his blood I shall seek from your hand. 21 And if you warn him, the righteous, not to sin, and the righteous does not sin, surely he will live, for he heeded a warning. And you will have saved your life.”[fn]

22 And the hand of Yahweh was on me there, and he said to me, “Rise up, go out to the valley, and there I will speak with you.” 23 And I rose up, and I went to the valley, and, look, there the glory of Yahweh was standing, like the glory that I saw near the Kebar River,[fn] and I fell on my face. 24 And the Spirit[fn] came into me, and it made me stand on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Come, shut yourself inside your house,[fn] 25 and you, son of man,[fn] look, they will place[fn] cords on you, and they will tie you up with them. Then you will not go out into the midst of them. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silenced, and you will not be a reproving man for them, for they are a rebellious house.[fn] 27 And when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “The one hearing him, let him hear, and the one failing to hear, let him fail,” ’ for they are a rebellious house.[fn]