Ezekiel 3

1And he said unto me, Son of man, eat that which thou findest; eat this roll, and go, speak unto the house of Israel.

1Then he said to me, 'Human, eat what is in front of you. Eat this scroll, and then go speak to the people of Israel.'

2So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat the roll.

2So I opened my mouth, and he fed the scroll to me.

3And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

3He said, 'Human, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.' When I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey.

4And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.

4Then he told me, 'Human, go to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.'

5For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;

5I am not sending you to people who speak a strange or difficult foreign language, but to the people of Israel.

6not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they would hearken unto thee.

6I am not sending you to many different nations whose languages you cannot understand. If I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.

7But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and of a stiff heart.

7But the people of Israel will not listen to you because they will not listen to me. All of them are stubborn and hard-hearted.

8Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads.

8Look, I have made you as stubborn as they are and your head as hard as theirs.

9As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

9I have made your forehead like the hardest rock, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by the way they look at you, even though they are a rebellious people.

10Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thy heart, and hear with thine ears.

10He also said to me, 'Human, listen carefully to all the words I speak to you and take them to heart.'

11And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

11'Go to your own people who are in exile. Speak to them and tell them, "This is what the Lord God says," whether they listen or not.'

12Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of Jehovah from his place.

12Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me, saying, 'Praise the glory of the Lord in his dwelling place!'

13And I heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, even the noise of a great rushing.

13I heard the sound of the wings of the living creatures touching each other and the sound of the wheels beside them; it was a loud rumbling noise.

14So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of Jehovah was strong upon me.

14The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I went away feeling bitter and angry in my spirit, but the Lord’s power was strong upon me.

15Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river Chebar, and to where they dwelt; and I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.

15I came to the exiles living at Tel-abib by the Chebar River. I sat there among them for seven days, completely overwhelmed.

16And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

16At the end of those seven days, a message from the Lord came to me.

17Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

17'Human, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them for me.'

18When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

18'If I say to a wicked person, "You will certainly die," and you do not warn them or speak out to turn them from their evil way to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin. But I will hold you responsible for their death.'

19Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

19'However, if you warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or their evil way, they will die for their sin, but you will have saved yourself.'

20Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit 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 righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

20'If a righteous person turns away from doing right and does evil, and I put a trap in front of them, they will die. If you did not warn them, they will die for their sin and their good deeds will not be remembered. But I will hold you responsible for their death.'

21Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul.

21'But if you warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took the warning. And you will have saved yourself.'

22And the hand of Jehovah was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.

22The power of the Lord was on me there, and he said to me, 'Get up and go out to the plain. I will speak with you there.'

23Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of Jehovah stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.

23So I got up and went out to the plain. There was the glory of the Lord, just like the glory I had seen by the Chebar River, and I fell facedown on the ground.

24Then the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet; and he spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thy house.

24Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. He spoke to me and said, 'Go, shut yourself inside your house.'

25But thou, son of man, behold, they shall lay bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:

25'As for you, human, they will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot go out among the people.'

26and 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.

26'I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to correct them, even though they are a rebellious people.'

27But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

27'But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth. You must tell them, "This is what the Lord God says." Whoever will listen, let them listen; and whoever refuses, let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.'