1Then He said to me: ‘Son of man, you must eat what I give you. Eat this scroll and then go and talk to the Israelites.’
2I opened my mouth and I ate the scroll. 3The Lord said to me: ‘Son of man, I am giving this scroll to you. You must eat until your stomach is full.’
And when I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey. 4He said to me: ‘Son of man, you must go to the people of Israel and tell them what I say. 5Because the Israelites speak a language that is not difficult to understand, I am sending you to them. 6I am sending you to them and not to a lot of other nations who speak languages that are difficult to understand. If I had sent you to them, they would not have understood or listened to you. 7But still, the Israelites will not listen to you, because they don't want to listen to Me. Yes, all the people of Israel are stubborn, and they don't want to listen to Me. 8But you must know, I have made you as stubborn as they are, and I have made your head as hard as their heads. 9I have made your head as hard as a diamond. It is harder than the hardest stone. Do not be afraid of them. Do not fear them, because they are a rebellious nation.’
10Then the Lord said to me: ‘Son of man, you must listen carefully and you must remember what I tell you. 11You must go to the people of Judah who are prisoners in Babylon, to your own people. Talk to them and tell them what I, the Lord, say. It does not_matter if they listen to you or not.’
12Then the Spirit lifted me up and I heard the voice of someone behind me saying: ‘Praise the glory of the Lord in heaven.’ It sounded like a big earthquake.
13I also heard the wings of the living_beings touching each other and the sound of the wheels with them. It sounded like a big earthquake. 14The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I went, but I was unhappy and upset. The Lord put his hand on me and I felt the power of the Lord in me.
15I came to the people of Judah. They lived in Tel-Aviv near the Kebar River. I sat there with them for 7 days. I was so sad and upset that I could not say anything.
Ezekiel must be a guard for the Israelites
16Then after 7 days, the Lord said to me: 17‘Son of man, I have chosen you to be a guard for the people of Israel. You must tell them everything that I say to you. You must warn them. 18If I tell a sinful person that I will punish him and that he will die, you must warn him. You must talk to him and tell him not to sin. He must stop doing what is wrong so that he can keep on living. If you don't warn him, then that person who lives wrongly will die because of the wrong that he does, but it will be your fault, and I will punish you because he has to die.
19But if you do what I say and you warn that person, but he does not want to change his life and he does not want to stop doing wrong, then he will die because of his sin. But then it will not be your fault. I will not punish you when he has to die, and you will live.
20If a man who lived in the right way stops doing what is right and he starts doing what is wrong, then you must warn him to stop doing it. If you don't, I will punish that person and he will die because he has sinned and I will not remember the good things that he has done before. But it will be your fault, and I will punish you because he has to die. 21But if you warn someone not to sin and he stops doing what is wrong, then he will keep on living, this is sure. He will live because you have warned him and he has listened to you. And then you will be innocent and live.’
22Then the Lord put his hand on me and I felt the power of the Lord in me. He said to me: ‘Get up and go to the valley. I will talk to you there.’
23I got up and went to the valley and there I saw the glory of the Lord. It was the same as his glory that I had seen at the Kebar River. I fell down on my face. 24Then the Spirit came into me and lifted me to stand on my feet. The Lord said to me: ‘Go inside your home and lock the doors. 25And you, Son of man, listen to what I say: People will tie you with ropes so that you will not be able to go to them. 26I will also make you mute and you will not be able to talk or to warn those people who rebel_against Me. 27But when I talk to you again, I will open your mouth and then you must tell them what I, the Lord, say. The people who want to listen, let them listen, and people who don't want to listen and are stubborn, let them be stubborn because they are rebellious people.’
