2 ¹ And he said to me, "Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will speak with you." 2 ² And when he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. 2 ³ And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels, who have rebelled against me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 2 ⁴ The people also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them; and you shall say to them, 'Thus says Yahweh GOD.' 2 ⁵ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that there has been a prophet among them. 2 ⁶ And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit upon scorpions; be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 2 ⁷ And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear; for they are a rebellious house.

2 ⁸ "But you, son of man, hear what I say to you; be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth, and eat what I give you." 2 ⁹ And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and, lo, a written scroll was in it; 2 ¹⁰ and he spread it before me; and it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

3 ¹ And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." 3 ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. 3 ³ And he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it." Then I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.

3 ⁴ And he said to me, "Son of man, go, get you to the house of Israel, and speak with my words to them. 3 ⁵ For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel - 3 ⁶ not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. 3 ⁷ But the house of Israel will not listen to you; for they are not willing to listen to me; because all the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and of a stubborn heart. 3 ⁸ Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads. 3 ⁹ Like adamant harder than flint have I made your forehead; fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house." 3 ¹⁰ Moreover he said to me, "Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. 3 ¹¹ And go, get you to the exiles, to your people, and say to them, 'Thus says Yahweh GOD'; whether they hear or refuse to hear."

3 ¹² Then the Spirit lifted me up, and as the glory of Yahweh arose from its place, I heard behind me the sound of a great earthquake; 3 ¹³ it was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, that sounded like a great earthquake. 3 ¹⁴ The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of Yahweh being strong upon me; 3 ¹⁵ and I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who dwelt by the river Chebar. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.