Ezekiel 2

¹ It said, ‘Son of man, stand up; I am going to speak to you’.

² As he said these words the spirit came into me and made me stand up, and I heard him speaking to me.

³ He said, ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebels who have turned against me. Till now they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me.

⁴ The sons are defiant and obstinate; I am sending you to them, to say, “The Lord Yahweh says this”.

⁵ Whether they listen or not, this set of rebels shall know there is a prophet among them.

⁶ And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them, do not be afraid when they say, “There are thorns all round you and scorpions under you”. There is no need to be afraid either of their words or of their looks, for they are a set of rebels.

⁷ You must deliver my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are a set of rebels.

⁸ ‘You, son of man, listen to the words I say; do not be a rebel like that rebellious set. Open your mouth and eat what I am about to give you.’

⁹ I looked. A hand was there, stretching out to me and holding a scroll.

¹⁰ He unrolled it in front of me; it was written on back and front; on it was written ‘lamentations, wailings, moanings’.