3Ezekiel 3

1The Lord said, “Ezekiel, son of man, after you eat this scroll, go speak to the people of Israel.”Select Ezekiel 3:1

3He handed me the scroll and said, “Eat this and fill up on it.” So I ate the scroll, and it tasted sweet as honey.Select Ezekiel 3:3

4The Lord said: Ezekiel, I am sending you to your own people.Select Ezekiel 3:4

6They are Israelites, not some strangers who speak a foreign language you can't understand. If I were to send you to foreign nations, they would listen to you.Select Ezekiel 3:6

7But the people of Israel will refuse to listen, because they have refused to listen to me. All of them are stubborn and hardheaded,Select Ezekiel 3:7

8so I will make you as stubborn as they are.Select Ezekiel 3:8

9You will be so determined to speak my message that nothing will stop you. I will make you hard like a diamond, and you'll have no reason to be afraid of those arrogant rebels.Select Ezekiel 3:9

10Listen carefully to everything I say and then think about it.Select Ezekiel 3:10

11Then go to the people who were brought here to Babylonia with you and tell them you have a message from me, the Lord God. Do this, whether they listen to you or not.Select Ezekiel 3:11

12The Spirit lifted me up, and as the glory of the Lord started to leave, I heard a loud, thundering noise behind me.Select Ezekiel 3:12

13It was the sound made by the creatures' wings as they brushed against each other, and by the rumble of the wheels beside them.Select Ezekiel 3:13

14Then the Spirit carried me away. The Lord's power had taken complete control of me, and I was both annoyed and angry.Select Ezekiel 3:14

15When I was back with the others living at Abib Hill near the Chebar River, I sat among them for seven days, shocked at what had happened to me.Select Ezekiel 3:15

The Appoints Ezekiel To Stand Watch

16Seven days after I had seen the brightness of the Lord's glory, the Lord said:Select Ezekiel 3:16

17Ezekiel, son of man, I have appointed you to stand watch for the people of Israel. So listen to what I say, then warn them for me.Select Ezekiel 3:17

18When I tell wicked people they will die because of their sins, you must warn them to turn from their sinful ways so they won't be punished. If you refuse, you are responsible for their death.Select Ezekiel 3:18

19However, if you do warn them, and they keep on sinning, they will die because of their sins, and you will be innocent.Select Ezekiel 3:19

20Now suppose faithful people start sinning, and I decide to put stumbling blocks in their paths to make them fall. They deserve to die because of their sins. So if you refuse to warn them, I will forget about the times they were faithful, and I will hold you responsible for their death.Select Ezekiel 3:20

21But if you do warn them, and they listen to you and stop sinning, I will let them live. And you will be innocent.Select Ezekiel 3:21

Ezekiel Cannot Talk

22The Lord took control of me and said, “Stand up! Go into the valley, and I will talk with you there.”Select Ezekiel 3:22

23I immediately went to the valley, where I saw the brightness of the Lord's glory, just as I had seen it near the Chebar River, and I bowed with my face to the ground.Select Ezekiel 3:23

24His Spirit took control of me and lifted me to my feet. Then the Lord said: Go back and lock yourself in your house!Select Ezekiel 3:24

25You will be tied up to keep you inside,Select Ezekiel 3:25

26and I will make you unable to talk or to warn those who have rebelled against me.Select Ezekiel 3:26

27But the time will come, when I will tell you what to say, and you will again be able to speak my message. Some of them will listen; others will be stubborn and refuse to listen.Select Ezekiel 3:27