Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; ^aeat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I ^aopened my mouth, and He ¹fed me this scroll. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, ¹feed your stomach and ^afill your ²body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ^bate it, and it was sweet as ^choney in my mouth.

4 Then He said to me, “Son of man, go now, come to the house of Israel, and you shall speak with My words to them. 5 For ^ayou are not being sent to a people of ^1bunintelligible lips or a difficult tongue, but to the house of Israel, 6 nor to many peoples of ¹unintelligible lips or a difficult tongue, whose words you cannot ²understand. ³But I have sent you to them ⁴who should listen to you; 7 yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are ^anot willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is ¹stubborn with a strong forehead and stiff heart. 8 Behold, I have made your face as strong as their faces and your forehead as strong as their foreheads. 9 Like ¹diamond stronger than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My ^awords which I will speak to you and listen with your ears. 11 And go now, come to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and you shall speak to them and say to them, whether they listen or whether they refuse, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh.’”

12 Then the ^aSpirit lifted me up, and I heard a great ^brumbling sound behind me, “Blessed be the glory of Yahweh ¹in His place.” 13 And I heard the sound of the wings of the living creatures touching one another and the sound of the ^awheels beside them, even a great rumbling sound. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the wrath of my spirit, and ^athe hand of Yahweh was strong on me. 15 Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the river Chebar at Tel-abib, and I sat there ^aseven days where they were living, causing ¹consternation among them.

16 ^aNow it happened at the end of seven days, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 17 “Son of man, I have given you as a ^awatchman to the house of Israel; so you will hear a word from My mouth, and you shall ^bwarn them from Me. 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his ^ablood I will require at your hand. 19 Yet if you have ^awarned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have ^bdelivered yourself. 20 Again, ^awhen a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a ^bstumbling block before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 However, if you have ^awarned ¹the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself.”

22 And the hand of Yahweh was on me there, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will ^aspeak to you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold, the ^aglory of Yahweh was standing there, like the glory which ^bI saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face. 24 The ^aSpirit then entered me and caused me to stand on my feet, and He spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself up in your house. 25 Now as for you, son of man, they will ^aput ropes on you and bind you with them so that you cannot go out among them. 26 Moreover, ^aI will make your tongue cling to ¹the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute and cannot be a man who reproves them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But ^awhen I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you will say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; ^bfor they are a rebellious house.