Add parallel Print Page Options

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

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

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

And to sons that have hard faces and strong hearts do I send thee; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath the Lord GOD said.

And they will not hear nor forbear (for they are a rebellious house), but they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.

¶ And thou, son of man, do not be afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, for they are rebels; though thou find thyself among thorns and thy dwelling be with briers, do not be afraid of their words, nor fear before them, for they are a rebellious house.

And thou shalt speak my words unto them, but they will not hear nor forbear, for they are rebels.

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

And I looked, and behold, a hand was sent unto me; and in it was the roll of a book,

10 and he spread it before me; and it was written within and without; and there was written therein lamentations and mourning and woes.

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.