1 And he said to me, "Son of man, what you find, eat! Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel."
2 And I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat,
3 and he said to me, "Son of man, you must give your stomach [this] to eat, and you must fill your belly [with] this scroll that I [am] giving to you." And I ate, and it became {like sweet honey} in my mouth.
4 And he said to me, "Son of man, come! Go to the house of Israel, and you must speak to them with my words.
5 For you are sent to the house of Israel, not to a people {of obscure speech} and {of a difficult language},
6 [and] not to many nations {of obscure speech} and {a difficult language} {whose words} you do not understand, [for] if I had sent you to them they would have listened to you.
7 And the house of Israel, they are not willing to listen to you, for they [are] not willing to listen to me, for all of the house of Israel is hard of forehead, and they [are] hard of heart.
8 [But] look, I have made your face hard {against} their faces and your forehead hard {against} their forehead.
9 Like a diamond {harder than flint} I have made your forehead; you must not fear them, and you must not be dismayed {on account of them}, for they {are a rebellious house}.
10 And he said to me, "Son of man, all of my words that I shall speak to you, receive into your heart and hear with your ears.
11 And come, go to the exiles, to the children of your people, and you must speak to them, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh!' whether they listen or whether they fail [to listen]."
12 And the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great earthquake when the glory of Yahweh rose from its place.
13 And [it was] the sound of the wings of the living creatures touching lightly {one against the other}, and the sound of the wheels beside them and [the] sound of a great earthquake.
14 And [the] Spirit lifted me and took me, and I went [in] bitterness in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of Yahweh [was] strong on me.
15 And I went to the exiles [at] Tel Abib, who [were] dwelling near the {Kebar River}, and I sat [where] they [were] dwelling. I sat there seven days in the midst of them, stunned.
16 And then it happened at [the] end of seven days, {the word of Yahweh came} to me, saying,
17 "Son of man, I have appointed you [as] a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me.
18 {When I say} to the wicked, 'Surely you will die,' and you do not warn him and you do not speak to warn [the] wicked from his wicked way {so that he may live}, that wicked [person] will die because of his guilt, and from your hand I will seek his blood.
19 And you, if you do warn [the] wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness and from his wicked way, on account of his guilt he will die, and you yourself will have saved your life.
20 And {when the righteous turns from his righteousness} and does injustice, and I place a stumbling block {before him}, he will die, for you did not warn him. Because of his sin he will die, and his righteousness that he did will not be remembered, and his blood I shall seek from your hand.
21 And if you warn him, the righteous, not to sin, and [the] righteous does not sin, surely he will live, for he heeded a warning. And you will have saved your life."
22 And the hand of Yahweh was on me there, and he said to me, "Rise up, go out to the valley, and there I will speak with you."
23 And I rose up, and I went to the valley, and, look, there the glory of Yahweh [was] standing, like the glory that I saw near the {Kebar River}, and I fell on my face.
24 And [the] Spirit came into me, and it made me stand on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, "Come, shut yourself {inside your house},
25 and you, son of man, look, they will place cords on you, and they will tie you up with them. Then you will not go out into the midst of them.
26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silenced, and you will not be a reproving man for them, for they {are a rebellious house}.
27 And when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "The [one] hearing him, let him hear, and the [one] failing [to hear], let him fail," ' for they {are a rebellious house}.