31 Then He said to me, "Son of man , eat what you find ; eat this scroll , and go , speak to the house of Israel ." 2 So I opened my mouth , and He fed me this scroll . 3 He said to me, "Son of man , feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you." Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth . 4 Then He said to me, "Son of man , go e to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. 5 "For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language , but to the house of Israel , 6 nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language , whose words you cannot understand . But I have sent you to them who should listen to you; 7 yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn e and obstinate e . 8 "Behold , I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads . 9 "Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead . Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before e them, though they are a rebellious house ." 10 Moreover, He said to me, "Son of man , take into your heart all My words which I will speak to you and listen closely . 11 "Go to the exiles , to the sons of your people , and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, 'Thus says the Lord GOD .' " 12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me, "Blessed be the glory of the Lord in His place ." 13 And I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another and the sound of the wheels beside them, even a great rumbling sound . 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit , and the hand of the Lord was strong on me. 15 Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the river Chebar at Tel-abib , and I sat there seven days where they were living , causing consternation among them.
16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying , 17 "Son of man , I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel ; whenever you hear a word from My mouth , warn 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 blood I will require at your hand . 19 "Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way , he shall die in his iniquity ; but you have delivered yourself . 20 "Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity , and I place an obstacle 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 warned the 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 The hand of the Lord was on me there , and He said to me, "Get up, go out to the plain , and there I will speak to you." 23 So I got up and went out to the plain ; and behold , the glory of the Lord was standing there , like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar , and I fell on my face . 24 The Spirit then entered me and made me stand on my feet , and He spoke with me and said to me, "Go , shut yourself up in your house . 25 "As for you, son of man , they will put ropes on you and bind you with them so that you cannot go out among them. 26 "Moreover, I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute and cannot be a man who rebukes them, for they are a rebellious house . 27 "But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD .' He who hears , let him hear ; and he who refuses , let him refuse ; for they are a rebellious house .
