Study Desk

Ezekiel's Call to Be a Prophet

He said to me, "Son of man,^[a](a) stand^(b) up on your feet and I will speak to you.^(c)"

As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me^(d) to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.^(e)

The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn.^(f) Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.'^(g)

And whether they listen or fail to listen^(h)—for they are a rebellious people⁽ⁱ⁾—they will know that a prophet has been among them.^(j)

And you, son of man, do not be afraid^(k) of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns^(l) are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.^(m)

You must speak⁽ⁿ⁾ my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.^(o)

But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel^(p) like that rebellious people;^(q) open your mouth and eat^(r) what I give you."

Then I looked, and I saw a hand^(s) stretched out to me. In it was a scroll,^(t)

which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.^(u)

And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel."

So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate^(a) it, and it tasted as sweet as honey^(b) in my mouth.

He then said to me: "Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.^(c)

You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language,^(d) but to the people of Israel—

not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.^(e)

But the people of Israel are not willing to listen^(f) to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.^(g)

But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.^(h)

I will make your forehead⁽ⁱ⁾ like the hardest stone, harder than flint.^(j) Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.^(k)"

And he said to me, "Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart^(l) all the words I speak to you.

Go^(m) now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,'⁽ⁿ⁾ whether they listen or fail to listen.^(o)"

Then the Spirit lifted me up,^(p) and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place where it was standing.^[a]

It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures^(q) brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.^(r)

The Spirit^(s) then lifted me up^(t) and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord ^(u) on me.

I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River.^(v) And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days^(w)—deeply distressed.

Ezekiel's Task as Watchman

At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me:^(x)

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman^(y) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.^(z)

When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,^(aa)' and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for^[b] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.^(ab)

But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn^(ac) from their wickedness^(ad) or from their evil ways, they will die^(ae) for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.^(af)

"Again, when a righteous person turns^(ag) from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block^(ah) before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.^(ai)

But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.^(aj)"

The hand of the Lord ^(ak) was on me there, and he said to me, "Get up and go^(al) out to the plain,^(am) and there I will speak to you."

So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River,^(an) and I fell facedown.^(ao)

Then the Spirit came into me and raised me^(ap) to my feet. He spoke to me and said: "Go, shut yourself inside your house.^(aq)

And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.^(ar)

I will make your tongue stick to the roof^(as) of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people.^(at)

But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.'^(au) Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.^(av)