Ezekiel 3:1-13 ▼

1 Then he told me, |Son of Man, eat! Eat what you see —this scroll—and then go talk to the house of Israel.|

2 So I opened my mouth and he fed me the scroll.

3 Then he told me, |Son of Man, fill your stomach and digest this scroll that I'm giving you.| So I ate it, and it was like sweet honey in my mouth.

4 Then he told me, |Son of Man, go to the house of Israel and tell them what I have to say to them,

5 because you're not going to a people whose speech you cannot understand or whose language is difficult to speak. Instead, you're going to the house of Israel.

6 This isn't a large group of people whose speech is unintelligible to you or whose language is difficult for you to comprehend. Frankly, if I had sent you to that kind of people, they would certainly have listened to you!

7 But the house of Israel won't listen to you, since they weren't willing to listen to me. That's because the entire house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

8 So pay attention! I'm going to make you just as obstinate and unyielding as they are.

9 I'm making you harder than flint—like diamond! So you are not to fear them or be intimidated by how they look at you, since they're a rebellious group.|

10 Next, he told me, |Son of Man, take to heart every word that I'm telling you. Listen carefully,

11 then go immediately to the exiles; that is, to your people's descendants, and tell them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says...' whether they listen or not.|

12 Then the Spirit lifted me up and I heard a great earthquake behind me and the glory of the LORD arose from his place,

13 accompanied by the sound of the wings of the living creatures gently touching each other and with the sound of the wheels emanating from the front, accompanied by a great earthquake.