3
1 He said to me, “You human, eat this scroll that is in front of you. Then go and speak to the Israeli people [MTY].”
2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat it.
3 Then he said to me, “You human, eat the scroll that I have given to you. Fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and in my mouth it tasted as sweet as honey.
4 Then he said to me, “You human, go to the Israeli people [MTY] and tell them my message.
5 The people to whom I am sending you are not people whose language is very difficult to learn, a language which you do not understand. I am sending you to your Israeli people [MTY].
6 I am sending you to people whose language you understand very well. If I were sending you to people whose language was difficult for you to understand, they would be surprised and pay attention to what you say to them.
7 But the Israeli people do not want to listen to you because they do not want to listen to me. They do not want to listen because they are all very stubborn [DOU].
8 But I will enable you [SYN] to be as stubborn and tough as they are.
9 I will cause you to be as firm/unbreakable as [SIM] the hardest stone, like flint. So, even though they are very rebellious people, do not be afraid of them; do not allow them to cause you to be afraid.”
10 He also said to me, “You human, listen very carefully to what I say, and keep thinking about it [IDM].
11 Go to your fellow Israelis who are here after being ◄exiled/forced to leave their country►, and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says,’ and then tell them my message, whether they want to hear it or whether they do not want to hear it.”
12 Then in the vision the Spirit of God lifted me up, and I heard behind me someone speaking very loudly, like a loud rumbling sound. I heard someone say, “Praise our glorious Yahweh in the place where he lives in heaven!”
13 I heard the sound of the wings of the four living creatures brushing against each other, and I also heard the sound of the wheels that were beside them. It was a loud rumbling sound.
14 The Spirit took me away. Within me I was very bitter and angry [DOU], but I felt Yahweh holding me very powerfully.
15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Abib town near the Kebar River/Canal south of Babylon. Then, where they were living, I sat for seven days. I was shocked about everything that I had seen.
The warning to the Israeli people
16 After those seven days had ended, Yahweh gave me this message:
17 “You human, I am appointing you to be like a watchman [MET] for the Israeli people [MTY]. So listen to these messages that I will give you, and tell them those messages to warn them.
18 When I say about some wicked people, ‘They will surely die because of their sins,’ if you do not warn them or tell them that they must turn from their wicked behavior if they want to ◄save their lives/remain alive►, those wicked people will die because of the sins that they have committed, but I will consider that you are responsible for their deaths [MTY].
19 But if you warn the wicked people and they do not turn from all their wicked behavior [DOU], they will die because of their sins, but you will have saved yourself from my punishing you.
20 Similarly, when righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and do evil deeds, I will cause bad things to happen [IDM] to them. But you must warn them. If you do not warn them, and if they do not stop their sinful behavior, they will die because of their sins; I will not think about the righteous things that they did previously, but I will consider that you are responsible for their deaths [MTY].
21 But if you warn righteous people not to sin, and they do not sin, they will surely remain alive because they heeded your warning, and you will have saved yourself from my punishing you.”
22 I felt Yahweh take control [MTY] of me, and he said to me, “Get up and go out from the city down to the plain/valley, and there I will speak to you.”
23 So I got up and went down to the valley. And I saw the glory of Yahweh there, like the glory that I had seen along the Kebar River/Canal. And I prostrated myself on the ground.
24 Then the Spirit of God entered me and enabled me to stand up. He said to me, “Go into your house and stay inside it.
25 People will tie you with ropes, with the result that you will be unable to go out among the people.
26 Even though they are very rebellious people, I will cause your tongue to stick to the roof of your mouth, with the result that you will be unable to talk and to rebuke them.
27 But then when I speak to you again, I will enable you to talk [MTY], and you will say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says,’ and you will tell them my message. Those who are willing to listen to what you say will listen, but many will refuse to listen, because they are rebellious people [MTY].”