| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” | 1The voice said to me, “Son of man, eat what I am giving you—eat this scroll! Then go and give its message to the people of Israel.” |
| 2So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. | 2So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. |
| 3And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. | 3“Fill your stomach with this,” he said. And when I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. |
| 4And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. | 4Then he said, “Son of man, go to the people of Israel and give them my messages. |
| 5For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— | 5I am not sending you to a foreign people whose language you cannot understand. |
| 6not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. | 6No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen! |
| 7But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. | 7But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn. |
| 8Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. | 8But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are. |
| 9Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” | 9I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock! So don’t be afraid of them or fear their angry looks, even though they are rebels.” |
| 10Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. | 10Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. |
| 11And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.” | 11Then go to your people in exile and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!’ Do this whether they listen to you or not.” |
| 12Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the LORD from its place!” | 12Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me. (May the glory of the LORD be praised in his place!) |
| 13It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake. | 13It was the sound of the wings of the living beings as they brushed against each other and the rumbling of their wheels beneath them. |
| 14The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me. | 14The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I went in bitterness and turmoil, but the LORD’s hold on me was strong. |
| 15And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days. | 15Then I came to the colony of Judean exiles in Tel-abib, beside the Kebar River. I was overwhelmed and sat among them for seven days. A Watchman for Israel |
| 16And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me: | 16After seven days the LORD gave me a message. He said, |
| 17“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. | 17“Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. |
| 18If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. | 18If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. |
| 19But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. | 19If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me. |
| 20Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. | 20“If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. |
| 21But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.” | 21But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.” |
| 22And the hand of the LORD was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you.” | 22Then the LORD took hold of me and said, “Get up and go out into the valley, and I will speak to you there.” |
| 23So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face. | 23So I got up and went, and there I saw the glory of the LORD, just as I had seen in my first vision by the Kebar River. And I fell face down on the ground. |
| 24But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. | 24Then the Spirit came into me and set me on my feet. He spoke to me and said, “Go to your house and shut yourself in. |
| 25And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. | 25There, son of man, you will be tied with ropes so you cannot go out among the people. |
| 26And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. | 26And I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be speechless and unable to rebuke them, for they are rebels. |
| 27But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house. | 27But when I give you a message, I will loosen your tongue and let you speak. Then you will say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!’ Those who choose to listen will listen, but those who refuse will refuse, for they are rebels. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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