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Ezekiel Called to Be a Prophet

And He said to me, “Son of man, (A)stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” Then (B)the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has (C)rebelled against Me; (D)they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. (E)For they are [a]impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ (F)As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a (G)rebellious house—yet they (H)will know that a prophet has been among them.

“And you, son of man, (I)do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though (J)briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; (K)do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, (L)though they are a rebellious house. (M)You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and (N)eat what I give you.”

Now when I looked, there was (O)a hand stretched out to me; and behold, (P)a scroll of a book was in it. 10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 2:4 Lit. stiff-faced and hard-hearted sons

The Prophet’s Call

Then He said to me, “Son of man, (A)stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as He spoke to me the (B)Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have (C)rebelled against Me; (D)they and their fathers have revolted against Me to this very day. So I am sending you to those who are [a](E)impudent and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord [b]God says:’ As for them, (F)whether they listen or [c]not—for they are a rebellious house—they will (G)know that a prophet has been among them. And as for you, son of man, you are (H)not to fear them nor fear their words, though (I)thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; you are not to fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, since they are a rebellious house. But you shall (J)speak My words to them (K)whether they listen or [d]not, for they are rebellious.

“Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth wide and (L)eat what I am giving you.” Then I looked, and behold, a (M)hand was extended to me; and behold, a [e](N)scroll was in it. 10 When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were songs of mourning, sighing, and (O)woe.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 2:4 Lit hard-faced and hard-hearted
  2. Ezekiel 2:4 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  3. Ezekiel 2:5 Lit refrain
  4. Ezekiel 2:7 Lit refrain
  5. Ezekiel 2:9 Lit scroll of a book

The Prophet’s Call

Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet and I will speak to you.” Then as He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. And He said to me, “I am sending you, son of man, to the children of Israel, to a rebellious people [in both the north and the south] that have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have sinned and revolted against Me to this very day. I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord [a]God.’ As for them, whether they listen or refuse [to listen]—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know and be fully aware of the fact that there has been a prophet among them. And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words; though briars and thorns are all around you and you sit among scorpions, neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. But you shall speak My words to them whether they will listen or refuse [to listen], for they are [most] rebellious.

“As for you, son of man, listen to what I say to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out toward me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 And He spread it before me, and it was written on the front and on the back, and written on it were [words of] lamentation (funeral songs) and mourning and woe.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 2:4 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord and so throughout.

Ezekiel’s Call to Be a Prophet

He said to me, “Son of man,[a](A) stand(B) up on your feet and I will speak to you.(C) As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me(D) to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.(E) The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn.(F) Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’(G) And whether they listen or fail to listen(H)—for they are a rebellious people(I)—they will know that a prophet has been among them.(J) And you, son of man, do not be afraid(K) of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns(L) are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.(M) You must speak(N) my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.(O) But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel(P) like that rebellious people;(Q) open your mouth and eat(R) what I give you.”

Then I looked, and I saw a hand(S) stretched out to me. In it was a scroll,(T) 10 which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.(U)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 2:1 The Hebrew phrase ben adam means human being. The phrase son of man is retained as a form of address here and throughout Ezekiel because of its possible association with “Son of Man” in the New Testament.

And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.

And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.

And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.

For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.

And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.

But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;

10 And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.