1Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, eat what I give you; eat this scroll, then go speak to the people of Israel.” 2So I opened my mouth, and He fed me that scroll to eat. 3And He said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll that I give you, and fill your stomach with it.” So then I ate it; and in my mouth it was sweet like honey.

4Then He said to me, “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel, and speak My words to them. 5For you are not being sent to a people of a strange speech and hard language, but to the people of Israel - 6Not to many peoples of obscure languages, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7But the people of Israel will not listen to you; because they refuse to listen to Me; for all the people of Israel are impudent and stubborn, 8But I have made you as resolute and unyielding as they are. 9I made you adamant, and your forehead harder than flint; do not fear them, nor be intimidated by their angry looks, for they are a rebellious bunch.” 10Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take to heart all My words that I shall speak to you, and listen with attentive ears. 11Now go and speak to your people in exile, and tell them, ‘Thus says the LORD God’; regardless of whether they will hear, or whether they will refuse to hear.”

12Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound that said, “Blessed be the glory of the LORD from His dwelling place.” 13It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other, and a loud rumbling sound of the wheels beneath them. 14Then the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my anger; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me. 15Then I came to the exiles that dwelt at Tel-abib, by the river of Chebar, and I sat among them for seven days, feeling overwhelmed.

16And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me: 17“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word that I speak, and give them warning from Me. 18When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die’; and you fail to warn them, or speak to dissuade the wicked from his wicked ways and save his life; that wicked man shall die for his wickedness; but his blood I will require at your hand. 19But if you warn the wicked, and they do not turn from their wickedness, or their evil ways, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have saved your soul. 20Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he had done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require of you. 21But if you warn the righteous man not to sin, so that the righteous man listens and does not sin, he shall surely live, because he was warned; and you have also saved your soul.”

22And the hand of the LORD was upon me there; and He said to me, “Arise, go out into the plain, and I will talk with you there.” 23So I arose, and went out into the plain; and, behold, the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory which I had seen by the Chebar (Kebar) River; and I fell face down. 24Then the Spirit entered me, and set me upon my feet, and spoke with me, and said to me, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25But there they shall tie you with ropes, so that you cannot go out among the people. 26And I will cause your tongue to cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall become mute, and unable to rebuke them; for they are a rebellious people. 27But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the LORD God says:’ Whoever will listen, let him hear; and whoever refuses, let him refuse; for they are indeed a rebellious people.