Ezekiel 3

Ezekiel's Call

1 Moreover He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; a eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." 2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. 3 And He said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you." So I b ate, and it was in my mouth c like honey in sweetness.

4 Then He said to me: "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. 5 "For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, 6 "not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, d had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7 "But the house of Israel will not listen to you, e because they will not listen to Me; f for all the house of Israel are 1 impudent and hard-hearted. 8 "Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. 9 g "Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; h do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house." 10 Moreover He said to me: "Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. 11 "And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, i 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' whether they hear, or whether they refuse."

12 Then j the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: "Blessed is the k glory of the LORD from His place!" 13 I also heard the l noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the 2 heat of my spirit; but m the hand of the LORD was strong upon me. 15 Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and n I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

A Watchman for Israel

16 Now it o came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 17 p "Son of man, I have made you q a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them r warning from Me: 18 "When I say to the wicked, 'You shall 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 s shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 "Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; t but you have delivered your soul. 20 "Again, when a u righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 "Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul."

22 v Then the hand of the LORD was upon me there, and He said to me, "Arise, go out w into the plain, and there I shall talk with you." 23 So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, x the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory which I y saw by the River Chebar; z and I fell on my face. 24 Then a the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: "Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 "And you, O son of man, surely b they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them. 26 c "I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and d not be 3 one to rebuke them, e for they are a rebellious house. 27 f "But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, g 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

  1. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:8
    "But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you."
    Ezekiel 2:9
    Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:16
    Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.
    Revelation 10:9
    So I went to the angel and said to him, "Give me the little book." And he said to me, "Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.
  3. Cross References
    Psalms 19:10
    More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
    Psalms 119:103
    How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
  4. Cross References
    Jonah 3:5 - 10
    So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.
    Matthew 11:21
    Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
  5. Cross References
    John 15:20
    Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
    John 15:21
    But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
  6. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:4
    "For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.'
  7. Cross References
    Isaiah 50:7
    For the Lord GOD will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.
    Jeremiah 1:18
    For behold, I have made you this day A fortified city and an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land - Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land.
    Micah 3:8
    But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, And of justice and might, To declare to Jacob his transgression And to Israel his sin.
  8. Cross References
    Jeremiah 1:8
    Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you," says the LORD.
    Jeremiah 1:17
    Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them.
    Ezekiel 2:6
    And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house.
  9. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:5
    As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse - for they are a rebellious house - yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.
    Ezekiel 2:7
    You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious.
  10. Cross References
    1 Kings 18:12
    And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth.
    Ezekiel 8:3
    He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy.
    Acts 8:39
    Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
  11. Cross References
    Ezekiel 1:28
    Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
    Ezekiel 8:4
    And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.
  12. Cross References
    Ezekiel 1:24
    When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings.
    Ezekiel 10:5
    And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks.
  13. Cross References
    2 Kings 3:15
    But now bring me a musician." Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.
    Ezekiel 1:3
    The word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.
    Ezekiel 8:1
    And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there.
  14. Cross References
    Job 2:13
    So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
    Psalms 137:1
    By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 42:7
    And it happened after ten days that the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.
  16. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:7 - 9
    So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.
  17. Cross References
    Isaiah 52:8
    Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye When the LORD brings back Zion.
    Isaiah 56:10
    His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
    Jeremiah 6:17
    Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen.
  18. Cross References
    Leviticus 19:17
    You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
    Proverbs 14:25
    A true witness delivers souls, But a deceitful witness speaks lies.
    Isaiah 58:1
    Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.
  19. Cross References
    Ezekiel 33:6
    'But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.'
    John 8:21
    Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.
    John 8:24
    "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
  20. Cross References
    Isaiah 49:4
    Then I said, 'I have labored in vain, I have sp...
    Isaiah 49:5
    And now the LORD says, Who formed Me from the w...
    Ezekiel 14:14
    Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job,...
    Ezekiel 14:20
    "even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, ...
    Acts 18:6
    But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he sh...
    Acts 20:26
    Therefore I testify to you this day that I am i...
    1 Timothy 4:16
    Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Cont...
  21. Cross References
    Psalms 125:5
    As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways, The LORD shall lead them away With the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel!
    Ezekiel 18:24
    But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.
    Ezekiel 33:18
    When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it.
    Zephaniah 1:6
    Those who have turned back from following the LORD, And have not sought the LORD, nor inquired of Him.
  22. Cross References
    Ezekiel 1:3
    The word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.
  23. Cross References
    Ezekiel 8:4
    And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.
  24. Cross References
    Ezekiel 1:28
    Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
    Acts 7:55
    But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
  25. Cross References
    Ezekiel 1:1
    Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
  26. Cross References
    Ezekiel 1:28
    Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
  27. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:2
    Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.
  28. Cross References
    Ezekiel 4:8
    And surely I will restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege.
  29. Cross References
    Ezekiel 24:27
    'on that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.'"
    Luke 1:20
    "But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time."
    Luke 1:22
    But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.
  30. Cross References
    Hosea 4:17
    Ephraim is joined to idols, Let him alone.
    Amos 8:11
    Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD.
  31. Cross References
    Ezekiel 2:5 - 7
    As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse - for they are a rebellious house - yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.
  32. Cross References
    Exodus 4:11
    So the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?
    Exodus 4:12
    "Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."
    Ezekiel 24:27
    'on that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.'"
    Ezekiel 33:22
    Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.
  33. Cross References
    Ezekiel 3:11
    "And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' whether they hear, or whether they refuse."
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Previous Book Next Book