Add parallel Print Page Options

And he said to me, Thou, son of man, stand on feet, and I shall speak with thee. [And he said to me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I shall speak with thee.]

And the spirit entered into me, after that he spake to me, and setted me on my feet. And I heard one speaking to me,

and saying, Son of man, I send thee to the sons of Israel, to folks apostates, either (those) going aback from faith, that went away from me; the fathers of them brake my covenant till to this day. (and saying, Son of man, I send thee to the Israelites, to an apostate nation, or those who went away from the faith, that went away from me; their forefathers broke my covenant, as they do unto this day.)

And the sons be of hard face, and of unchastiseable heart, to whom I send thee (And the people be stubborn, and with undisciplined hearts/and with willful hearts, to whom I send thee). And thou shalt say to them, The Lord God saith these things;

if peradventure namely they hear, and if peradventure they rest, for it is an house stirring to wrath. And they shall know, that a prophet is in the midst of them. (whether they shall listen to you or not, for it is a house stirring me to anger. And they shall know, that a prophet is in their midst.)

Therefore thou, son of man, dread not them, neither dread thou the words of them; for unbelieveful men and destroyers be with thee, and thou dwellest with scorpions. Dread thou not the words of them, and dread thou not the faces of them, for it is an house stirring to wrath. (And so thou, son of man, do not thou fear them, nor fear thou their words; though unbelieving people and destroyers be with thee, and thou livest with scorpions. Fear thou not their words, and fear thou not their faces, though it is a house stirring me to anger.)

Therefore thou shalt speak my words to them, if peradventure they hear, and rest, for they be stirrers to wrath. (And so thou shalt speak my words to them, whether they shall listen to you or not, for they be a house stirring me to anger/for they be stirrers to anger.)

But thou, son of man, hear whatever things I shall speak to thee; and do not thou be a stirrer to wrath, as the house of Israel is a stirrer to wrath. Open thy mouth, and eat whatever things I give to thee. (But thou, son of man, listen to whatever I say to thee; and do not thou be a stirrer, or a provoker, to anger, like the house of Israel is a stirrer to anger. Open thy mouth, and eat whatever things I give thee.)

And I saw, and lo! an hand was sent to me, in which a book was folded together. (And I saw, and lo! a hand was sent to me, holding a folded up book, or a folio/holding a rolled up scroll.)

10 And he spreaded abroad it before me, that was written within and withoutforth. And lamentations, and song, and woe, were written therein. (And he spread it out before me/And he unrolled it before me, and it was written on both sides, that is, the inside, and the outside. And lamentations, and songs, and woes, were written on it.)

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.