פ Pe

צ Tsadhe

ק Qoph

³ 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.^{(A) 4} The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn.^(B) Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’^{(C) 5} And whether they listen or fail to listen^(D)—for they are a rebellious people^(E)—they will know that a prophet has been among them.^{(F) 6} And you, son of man, do not be afraid^(G) of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns^(H) 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.^{(I) 7} You must speak^(J) my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.^{(K) 8} But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel^(L) like that rebellious people;^(M) open your mouth and eat^(N) what I give you.”

⁹ Then I looked, and I saw a hand^(O) stretched out to me. In it was a scroll,^{(P) 10} which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.^(Q)

3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

³ Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate^(R) it, and it tasted as sweet as honey^(S) in my mouth.

⁴ He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.^{(T) 5} You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language,^(U) but to the people of Israel— ⁶ not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.^{(V) 7} But the people of Israel are not willing to listen^(W) to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.^{(X) 8} But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.^{(Y) 9} I will make your forehead^(Z) like the hardest stone, harder than flint.^(AA) Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.^(AB)”

¹⁰ And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart^(AC) all the words I speak to you. ¹¹ Go^(AD) now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’^(AE) whether they listen or fail to listen.^(AF)”

Forgiveness for the Offender

⁵ If anyone has caused grief,^(A) he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. ⁶ The punishment^(B) inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. ⁷ Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him,^(C) so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ Another reason I wrote you^(D) was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.^{(E) 10} Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, ¹¹ in order that Satan^(F) might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.^(G)

Ministers of the New Covenant

¹² Now when I went to Troas^(H) to preach the gospel of Christ^(I) and found that the Lord had opened a door^(J) for me, ¹³ I still had no peace of mind,^(K) because I did not find my brother Titus^(L) there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.^(M)

¹⁴ But thanks be to God,^(N) who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma^(O) of the knowledge^(P) of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are to God the pleasing aroma^(Q) of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.^{(R) 16} To the one we are an aroma that brings death;^(S) to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?^{(T) 17} Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit.^(U) On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity,^(V) as those sent from God.^(W)