Ezekiel 3:1–11

¹“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”

²So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll.

³“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.”

So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

⁴Then He said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak My words to them. ⁵For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel — ⁶not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.

⁷But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

⁸Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹I will make your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed at their presence, even though they are a rebellious house.”

¹⁰“Son of man,” He added, “listen carefully to all the words I speak to you, and take them to heart. ¹¹Go to your people, the exiles; speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.”