1 He said to me, "Son of man, eat what is in front of you. Eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel."
2 I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll.
3 He said to me, "Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your insides with this scroll I am giving you." So I ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey.
4 Then he said to me, "Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them.
5 You are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech and difficult tongue, but to the house of Israel,
6 not to many peoples of unintelligible speech and difficult tongue whose words you cannot make out. If I sent you to those, they would listen to you.
7 But the house of Israel will refuse to listen to you, because they refuse to listen to me; the whole house of Israel is hard of brow and stubborn of heart.
8 See, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your brow as hard as their brows.
9 I have made your brow like diamond, harder than flint. Have no fear of them and do not be shaken by their faces, for they are a house of rebellion."
10 He said to me, "Son of man, take into your heart all the words I speak to you, and hear them with your ears.
11 Go now to the exiles, to the sons of your people; speak to them and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' whether they listen or hold back."
12 Then the Spirit lifted me, and behind me I heard the noise of a great quaking: "Blessed be the glory of the LORD from its place!"
13 It was the noise of the living creatures' wings brushing against one another, and the noise of the wheels alongside them, the noise of a great quaking.
14 The Spirit lifted me and carried me off, and I went bitter, my spirit burning, while the hand of the LORD pressed hard on me.
15 I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who lived beside the river Chebar, and I sat where they were living; for seven days I sat there among them, stunned.
16 When seven days were over, the word of the LORD came to me:
17 "Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, give them warning from me.
18 If I tell the wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you give him no warning and do not speak up to warn the wicked man away from his wicked way so that he may live, that wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you responsible for his blood.
19 But if you have warned the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness and from his wicked way, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
20 And if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and does wrong, and I put a stumbling block in front of him, he will die. Because you gave him no warning, he will die for his sin, and the righteous things he did will not be remembered; but I will hold you responsible for his blood.
21 But if you have warned the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he will surely live because he was warned, and you will have saved your life."
22 There the hand of the LORD came upon me, and he said to me, "Get up and go out to the valley, and there I will speak to you."
23 So I got up and went out to the valley, and there stood the glory of the LORD, like the glory I had seen beside the river Chebar; and I fell face down.
24 The Spirit came into me and stood me on my feet. He spoke to me and told me, "Go and shut yourself in your house.
25 As for you, Son of man, they are going to put ropes on you and tie you up with them, so that you cannot go out among them.
26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be speechless and unable to be a reprover to them, for they are a house of rebellion.
27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you will tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' Whoever listens, let him listen; whoever holds back, let him hold back; for they are a house of rebellion.