Ezekiel 3

And he said to me, Son of man, devour this scroll, and go and speak to the sons of Israel.

And I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll.

And he said to me, Son of man, your mouth shall eat, and your belly shall be filled with this scroll that is given to you. And I ate it, and it became in my mouth as honey, sweetening.

And he said to me, Son of man, go, enter to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.

For you are not sent to a people of deep lip and heavy tongue, but to the house of Israel;

nor to many peoples of foreign speech or foreign tongue, nor to those stiff of tongue, whose words you would not understand. And if I had sent you to such as these, these would have listened to you.

But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me; for all the house of Israel are contentious and hard-hearted.

And behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and I will strengthen your contention against their contention.

And it shall be continually stronger than rock. Do not fear them nor be terrified at their face, for it is an embittering house.

And he said to me, Son of man, all the words that I have spoken with you take into your heart, and hear with your ears.

And go, enter into the captivity, to the sons of your people, and you shall speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord — whether then they hear, whether then they yield.

And a spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a sound of a great earthquake: Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place.

And I saw a sound of the wings of the living creatures fluttering one toward the other, and a sound of the wheels close beside them, and a sound of the earthquake.

And the spirit lifted me and took me up, and I went in the impulse of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord came upon me mightily.

And I entered into the captivity, borne aloft, and I went about among those dwelling by the river Chobar, those who were there; and I sat there seven days, going about in their midst.

And it happened after the seven days that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; and you shall hear a word from my mouth and shall sternly warn them from me.

When I say to the lawless one, You shall surely die, and you have not warned him nor spoken to warn the lawless one to turn from his ways that he may live, that lawless one shall die in his wrongdoing, and his blood I will require from your hand.

And you, if you warn the lawless one and he does not turn from his lawlessness and from his way, that lawless one shall die in his wrongdoing, but you shall deliver your soul.

And when a righteous one turns from his righteous deeds and commits a trespass, and I set the torment before his face, he shall die, because you did not warn him; and he shall die in his sins, for his righteous deeds that he did shall not be remembered; and his blood I will require from your hand.

But you, if you warn the righteous one not to sin, and he himself does not sin, the righteous one shall surely live, because you warned him; and you shall deliver your own soul.

And the hand of the Lord came upon me, and he said to me, Arise and go out into the plain, and there it shall be spoken to you.

And I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, there the glory of the Lord stood, as the vision and as the glory that I saw by the river Chobar; and I fall upon my face.

And a spirit came upon me and set me upon my feet, and spoke to me and said to me, Go in and shut yourself up in the midst of your house.

And you, son of man, behold, bonds are laid upon you, and they shall bind you with them, and you shall not go out from their midst.

And I will bind your tongue, and you shall be struck dumb, and you shall not be to them a man who reproves, for it is an embittering house.

But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord. Let him who hears, hear; and let him who disobeys, disobey; for it is an embittering house.