1 MOREOVER he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
5 For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;
6 Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.
8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.
11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
12 Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place.
13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.
14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.
15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
22 And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.
23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.
24 Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.
25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:
26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.
27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

2So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.

3And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

4And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.

5For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;

6Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.

7But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.

8Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

9As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

10Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

11And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

12Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place.

13I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.

14So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.

15Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

16And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

17Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

18When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

19Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

20Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

21Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

22And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.

23Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.

24Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.

25But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:

26And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.

27But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

I == Ezek 2:8-9

III == Ps 19:10 ; 119:103 ; Jer 15:6 ; Rev 10:9

V == Ezek 2:6

VI == Matt 11:21 , 23

VII == Ezek 2:4 ; John 15:20

IX == Isa 50:7 l Jer 1:8 , 17-18 ; 15:20 ; Ezek 2:6 ; Mic 3:8

XI == Ezek 2:5 , 7 ; 3:27

XII == 1st Kings 18:12 ; 2nd Kings 2:16 ; Ezek 3:14 ; 8:3 ; Acts 8:30

XIV == 2nd Kings 3:15 ; Ezek 1:3 ; 3:12 ; 8:1 , 3 ; 37:1

XV == Job 2:13 ; PS 137:1

XVII == Isa 52:8 ; 56:10 ; 62:6 ; Jer 6:17 ; Ezek 33:7-9

XVIII == Ezek 33:6 ; John 8:21 , 24

XIX == Isa 49:4-5 ; Acts 20:26

XX == Ezek 18:24 ; 33:12-13

XXII == Ezek 1:3 ; 3:14 ; 8:4

XXII == Ezek 1:3 ; 3:14 ; 8:4

XXIII == Ezek 1:1 , 28

XXIV == Ezek 2:2

XXV == Ezek 4:8

XXVI == Ezek 2:5-7 ; 24:27 ; Luke 1:20 , 22

XXVII == Ezek 3:9 , 11 , 26 ; 12:2-3 ; 21:22 ; 24:27 ; 33:22

1 He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.

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

3 Son of man, he then said to me, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. He said:

4 Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.

5 Not to a people with difficult speech and barbarous language am I sending you,

6 nor to the many peoples (with difficult speech and barbarous language) whose words you cannot understand. If I were to send you to these, they would listen to you;

7 but the house of Israel will refuse to listen to you, since they will not listen to me. For the whole house of Israel is stubborn of brow and obstinate in heart.

8 But I will make your face as hard as theirs, and your brow as stubborn as theirs,

9 like diamond, harder than flint. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.

10 Son of man, he said to me, take into your heart all my words that I speak to you; hear them well.

11 Now go to the exiles, to your countrymen, and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD! - whether they heed or resist!

12 Then spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the noise of a loud rumbling as the glory of the LORD rose from its place:

13 the noise made by the wings of the living creatures striking one another, and by the wheels alongside them, a loud rumbling.

14 The spirit which had lifted me up seized me, and I went off spiritually stirred, while the hand of the LORD rested heavily upon me.

15 Thus I came to the exiles who lived at Tel-abib by the river Chebar, and for seven days I sat among them distraught.

17 Thus the word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, you shall warn them for me.

18 If I say to the wicked man, You shall surely die; and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his wicked conduct so that he may live: that wicked man shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death.

19 If, on the other hand, you have warned the wicked man, yet he has not turned away from his evil nor from his wicked conduct, then he shall die for his sin, but you shall save your life.

20 If a virtuous man turns away from virtue and does wrong when I place a stumbling block before him, he shall die. He shall die for his sin, and his virtuous deeds shall not be remembered; but I will hold you responsible for his death if you did not warn him.

21 When, on the other hand, you have warned a virtuous man not to sin, and he has in fact not sinned, he shall surely live because of the warning, and you shall save your own life.

22 The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he said to me: Get up and go out into the plain, where I will speak with you.

23 So I got up and went out into the plain, and I saw that the glory of the LORD was in that place, like the glory I had seen by the river Chebar. I fell prone,

24 but then spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me. He said to me: Go shut yourself up in your house.

25 (As for you, son of man, they will put cords upon you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them.)

26 I will make your tongue stick to your palate so that you will be dumb and unable to rebuke them for being a rebellious house.

27 Only when I speak with you and open your mouth, shall you say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD! Let him heed who will, and let him resist who will, for they are a rebellious house.

16 At the end of seven days. . .

NUMBERS ARE NOT IN ORDER # 16 IS THE LAST VERSE

v 1-3. Ezekiel was to “eat”, be receptive to His word. When he ate it, it was sweet because it was God’s word, not because of the bitter message, Rev. 10:9,10 and other. It was not literally eaten, but enjoyed, then assimilated in the inner being. We must assimilate and understand God’s word in our own hearts before we can teach others.

v 4-11. Rebellious Israel would not heed Ezekiel, but some heathen Gentiles would. That is why the apostles spoke in many tongues at Pentecost and many of the unsaved Gentile world believed. God would make him “hard headed” to not fear Israel.

v 12-15. Ezekiel was caught up in the midst of these wheels he had been seeing, with their accompanying noise, and transported mentally, not physically. He also had the anger of God toward the sinfulness of Israel.

v 17-21. He was transported various places and returned to the captives at Tel-abib, not modern Tel-aviv in Israel, but a place near the Chebar (Kedar) river east of Babylon. He sat overwhelmed by the experience and responsibility for seven days. Then God jarred him from his thoughts with the command to be a watchman and warn the people that they would die for their sins, and whatever their response would be, he would be released from his responsibility. Likewise those who were following God’s commandments were warned to continue doing so or also risk physical death. This is not speaking of a loss of salvation. Ezekiel would have fulfilled his responsibility.

v 22,23. Apparently Ezekiel performed his mission and the people had not shown response, so God called him out into the plains where he saw the same vision, glory of the Lord, he had seen at the river Chebar. He prostrates himself as he did in 1:28.

v 24,25. Restriction 1: The Spirit again strengthened him for his task, but he was not to speak publicly lest they think he was beside himself, Acts 26:24, and bind him. This would also be a rebuke to the people for not heeding the message.

v 26,27. Restriction 2: God would temporarily remove Ezekiel’s speech. Only when God gave him a message to tell would he allow his speech to return. Response to their rebellion was similar to what Jesus said, Matt. 11:15 and others, “He who has ears to hear,let him hear.”