1 And he said unto me, Son of man, eat what thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. I ate it and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.
4 Then he said unto me, Son of man, go and enter into the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
5 For thou art not sent to a people of a profound speech nor of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;
6 not to many peoples of profound speech nor of hard language, whose words thou can not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
7 But the house of Israel will not desire to hear; for they do not desire to hear me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.
8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
9 As diamond harder than flint I have made thy forehead: do not fear them, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.
10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.
11 And go, and enter in among the captives, unto the sons of thy people, and thou shalt speak unto them, and tell them, Thus hath the Lord GOD said, They will not hear, nor forbear.
12 And the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of great thunder of the blessed glory of the LORD leaving his place,
13 and the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of great thunder.
14 And the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
15 And I came unto the captives at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there disheartened among them seven days.
16 And it came to pass at the end of the seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
17 Son of man, I have placed thee as a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me.
18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die and thou dost not give him warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, that he might live, the same wicked man shall die for his iniquity; but his blood I will require at thine hand.
19 Yet if thou warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness nor from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
20 Again, When the righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die because thou hast not given him warning; he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at thy hand.
21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man that the righteous not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
22 And the hand of the LORD came upon me there; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will talk with thee there.
23 Then I arose and went forth into the plain, and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar; and I fell on my face.
24 Then spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet, and he spoke with me and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.
25 And thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them;
26 and I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth that thou shalt be dumb and shalt not be to them a reprover; for they are a rebellious house.
27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath the Lord GOD said: He that hears, let him hear, and he that forbears; let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.