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And he said to me: “Stand up, son of dust,[a] and I will talk to you.”

And the Spirit entered into me as he spoke, and set me on my feet.

“Son of dust,” he said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, to a nation rebelling against me. They and their fathers have kept on sinning against me until this very hour. For they are a hard-hearted, stiff-necked people. But I am sending you to give them my messages—the messages of the Lord God. And whether they listen or not (for remember, they are rebels), they will at least know they have had a prophet among them.

“Son of dust, don’t be afraid of them; don’t be frightened even though their threats are sharp and barbed and sting like scorpions. Don’t be dismayed by their dark scowls. For remember, they are rebels! You must give them my messages whether they listen or not (but they won’t,[b] for they are utter rebels). Listen, son of dust, to what I say to you. Don’t you be a rebel too! Open your mouth and eat what I give you.”

9-10 Then I looked and saw a hand holding out to me a scroll, with writing on both sides. He unrolled it, and I saw that it was full of warnings and sorrows and pronouncements of doom.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 2:1 son of dust, or “son of man,” appears eighty-seven times throughout the book of Ezekiel. The connotation is “mortal man.” In Daniel 7:13, the corresponding Aramaic expression is used for the Messiah as representative of the human race of which he is the head.
  2. Ezekiel 2:7 but they won’t, implied.

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.