Ezekiel 2:8-3:11

English Standard Version

⁸ “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. ^(A)Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and ^(B)eat what I give you.” ⁹ And when I looked, behold, ^(C)a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, ^(D)a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰ And he spread it before me. And it had writing ^(E)on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

3 And he said to me, ^(F)“Son of man, eat whatever you find here. ^(G)Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” ^(H)Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth ^(I)as sweet as honey.

⁴ And he said to me, ^(J)“Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. ⁵ For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— ⁶ not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. ^(K)Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. ^7 (L)But 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 ^(M)have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. ^8 (N)Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹ Like ^(O)emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. ^(P)Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰ Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, ^(Q)all my words that I shall speak to you receive ^(R)in your heart, and hear with your ears. ¹¹ And go to the exiles, ^(S)to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ^(T)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ ^(U)whether they hear or refuse to hear.”