1 AND HE said to me [Ezekiel], Son of man, stand upon your feet and I will speak to you. 2 And the Spirit entered into me when He spoke to me and set me upon my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me. 3 And He said to me, I send you, son of man, to the children of Israel, two rebellious nations that have rebelled against Me. They and their fathers have transgressed against Me even to this very day. 4 And the children are impudent and hard of heart. I send you to them and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord God. 5 And they, whether they will hear or refuse to hear--for they are a rebellious house--yet shall they know and realize that there has been a prophet among them. 6 And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words; though briers and thorns are all around you and you dwell and sit among scorpions, be not afraid of their words nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you shall speak My words to them whether they will hear or refuse to hear, for they are most rebellious.
8 As for you, son of man, hear what I say to you; be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you. 9 And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 And He spread it before me and it was written within and on the back, and written on it were words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
1 HE SAID to me, Son of man, eat what you find [in this book]; eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel. 2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat the scroll. 3 And He said to me, Son of man, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4 And He said to me, Son of man, go, get you to the house of Israel and speak to them with My words. 5 For you are not sent to a people of a foreign speech and of a difficult language but to the house of Israel; 6 Not to many peoples of foreign speech and of a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to such people, they would have listened to you and heeded My words. 7 But the house of Israel will not listen to you and obey you since they will not listen to Me and obey Me, for all the house of Israel are impudent and stubborn of heart. 8 Behold, I have made your face strong and hard against their faces and your forehead strong and hard against their foreheads. 9 Like an adamant harder than flint or a diamond point have I made your forehead; fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 10 Moreover, He said to me, Son of man, all My words that I shall speak to you, receive in your heart and hear with your ears. 11 And go, get you to the [Jewish] captives [in Babylon], to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, Thus says the Lord God, whether they will hear or refuse to hear.
12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing [saying], Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place [above the firmament]. 13 I heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures as they touched and joined each one the other [its sister wing], and I heard the noise of the wheels beside them and the noise of a great rushing. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away [in the vision], and I went in bitterness [of discouragement] in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. 15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, who sat and dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat and remained there among them seven days, overwhelmed with astonishment and silent.