1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
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Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them. 6:2
Trivia: In Ezekiel 4, how long did Ezekiel lie on his right side?
1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
God said to me,
Son of man, eat this scroll,
and speak to the people of Israel.
2So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.
So I opened my mouth and ate the scroll.
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.
God said,
Son of man, fill your bowels with this scroll.
So I did that. And it was as sweet as honey.
4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
God said,
Son of man, go speak my words to the people of Israel.
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.
They speak the same language as you.
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.
But they won't listen to you;
they don't listen to me either.
8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
I've made your face strong against their faces,
and your 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.
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.
Your forehead is as hard as adamant [1]
and harder than flint.
So don't be afraid of them.
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.
Then the spirit took me up, and I heard a voice say,
Blessed be the glory of the Lord.
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.
I also heard the wings of the creatures,
and the noise of the wheels.
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.
15 Then 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.
Then the spirit lifted me up and took me away.
I wasn't happy about it, but God's hand was strong on me.
16 And 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.
Seven days later, the word of God came to me, saying,
I've made you a watchman for the people of Israel.
Warn them for 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.
When I say to wicked people, "You will die",
and you fail to warn them, and I kill them for their wickedness, you'll be responsible for their deaths. [2]
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.
But if you warn the wicked people and they stay wicked,
then I'll kill them, but you will have saved your own soul.
20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block 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.
When righteous people do something wrong because I lay a stumbling block before them, I'll kill them.
And because you didn't warn them,
you'll be responsible for their deaths.
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.
If you warn the righteous and they stay righteous,
I won't kill them, and you will save your 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.
The hand of God was upon me, and he said,
Get up and go to the plain.
I'll talk to you there.
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.
When I arrived at the plain, the glory of the Lord stood there.
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.
Then the spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and said,
Go shut yourself up in your house. [3]
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:
Son of man, you will be tied up.
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.
And I'll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you can't speak.
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.
Until I tell you to speak.
Then you'll speak to the people, and say,
This is what God says.
Whoever hears will hear.
Whoever doesn't, won't.
Adamant is a mythological stone, harder than diamond or any other material.
God's killing rules:
If Ezekiel doesn't warn the wicked that God's going to kill them for being wicked, God will kill the wicked people and blame Ezekiel for their deaths.
If Ezekiel warns the wicked, then God will kill the wicked people (if they don't change their wicked ways), but not Ezekiel.
If a good person does something wrong after God "lays a stumbling block before him," then God will kill him. "He shall die in his sin" and whatever good he has done will be forgotten. And Ezekiel will be to blame for their killing.
(Or something like that.)
The spirit (of God?) enters Ezekiel, ties him up, and makes his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth so that he could no longer speak.