Ezekiel 3:9-4:4

English Standard Version

⁹Like ^(A)emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. ^(B)Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, ^(C)all my words that I shall speak to you receive ^(D)in your heart, and hear with your ears. ¹¹And go to the exiles, ^(E)to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ^(F)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ ^(G)whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

¹²^(H)Then the Spirit^[a] lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice^[b] of ^(I)a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” ¹³It was the sound of the wings of ^(J)the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of ^(K)a great earthquake. ¹⁴^(L)The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the ^(M)hand of the Lord being strong upon me. ¹⁵^(N)And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling ^(O)by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.^[c] And ^(P)I sat there ^(Q)overwhelmed among them ^(R)seven days.

A Watchman for Israel

¹⁶^(S)And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷^(T)“Son of man, ^(U)I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall ^(V)give them warning from me. ¹⁸^(W)If I say to the wicked, ^(X)‘You shall surely die,’ ^(Y)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 ^(Z)shall die for^[d] his iniquity, ^(AA)but his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹^(AB)But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, ^(AC)but you ^(AD)will have delivered your soul. ²⁰^(AE)Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, ^(AF)and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. ^(AG)Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, ^(AH)and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, ^(AI)but his blood I will require at your hand. 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.”

²²^(AJ)And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into ^(AK)the valley,^[e] and ^(AL)there I will speak with you.” ²³So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, ^(AM)the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen ^(AN)by the Chebar canal, ^(AO)and I fell on my face. ²⁴^(AP)But 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. ²⁵And you, O son of man, behold, ^(AQ)cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. ²⁶And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that ^(AR)you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, ^(AS)for they are a rebellious house. ²⁷^(AT)But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ^(AU)‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ^(AV)He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

4 “And you, ^(AW)son of man, ^(AX)take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. ²^(AY)And put siegeworks against it, ^(AZ)and build a siege wall against it, ^(BA)and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, ^(BB)and plant battering rams against it all around. ³And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; ^(BC)and set your face toward it, ^(BD)and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is ^(BE)a sign for the house of Israel.

⁴“Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment^[f] of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, ^(BF)you shall bear their punishment.