| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you see in front of you--eat this scroll--and then go and 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 fed me the scroll. | 2So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. |
| 3He said to me, "Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving to you." So I ate it, and it was sweet like honey in my mouth. | 3“Fill your stomach with this,” he said. And when I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. |
| 4He said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak 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 being sent to a people of unintelligible speech and difficult 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 unintelligible speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand--surely if I had sent you to them, 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 is unwilling to listen to you, because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. | 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. |
| 8"I have made your face adamant to match their faces, and your forehead hard to match their foreheads. | 8But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are. |
| 9I have made your forehead harder than flint--like diamond! Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you, 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.” |
| 10And he said to me, "Son of man, take all my words that I speak to you to heart and listen carefully. | 10Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. |
| 11Go to the exiles, to your fellow countrymen, and speak to them--say to them, 'This is what the sovereign LORD says,' whether they pay attention or not." | 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 a wind lifted me up and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me as the glory of the LORD rose 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!) |
| 13and the sound of the living beings' wings brushing against each other, and the sound of the wheels alongside them, a great rumbling sound. | 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. |
| 14A wind lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly, my spirit full of fury, and the hand of the LORD rested powerfully on 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. |
| 15I came to the exiles at Tel Abib, who lived by the Kebar River. I sat dumbfounded among them there, where they were living, for 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 |
| 16At 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 appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a 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. |
| 18When I say to the wicked, "You will certainly die," and you do not warn him--you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked deed and wicked lifestyle so that he may live--that wicked person will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. | 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 as for you, if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wicked deed and from his wicked lifestyle, he will die for his iniquity but you will have saved your own life. | 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. |
| 20"When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death. | 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. |
| 21However, if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he will certainly live because he was warned, and you will have saved your own life." | 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.” |
| 22The hand of the LORD rested on me there, and he said to me, "Get up, go out to the valley, and I will speak with you there." | 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 got up and went out to the valley, and the glory of the LORD was standing there, just like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I threw myself face down. | 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. |
| 24Then a wind came into me and stood me on my feet. The LORD spoke to me and said, "Go shut yourself in 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. |
| 25As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you and tie you up with them, so you cannot go out among them. | 25There, son of man, you will be tied with ropes so you cannot go out among the people. |
| 26I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent 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 loosen your tongue and you must say to them, 'This is what the sovereign LORD says.' Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will 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. |
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