CHAPTER 3
1 And he said to me, Son of man, eat thou whatever thing thou findest (before thee), eat thou this volume; and go thou, and speak to the sons of Israel. (And he said to me, Son of man, eat thou whatever thing thou findest before thee, yea, eat thou this book, or yea, eat thou this scroll; and then go thou, and speak to the Israelites.)
2 And I opened my mouth, and he fed me with that volume. (And I opened my mouth, and he fed me with that book or and he fed me with that scroll.)
3 And he said to me, Son of man, thy womb shall eat, and thine entrails shall be filled with this volume, which I give to thee. And I ate it, and it was made as sweet honey in my mouth. (And he said to me, Son of man, make thy womb to eat, and thy bowels to be filled with this book or with this scroll, which I give thee. And I ate it, and it was made as sweet as honey in my mouth.)
4 And he said to me, Son of man, go thou to the house of Israel, and thou shalt speak my words to them.
5 For thou shalt not be sent to a people of high word, and of unknown language; thou shalt be sent to the house of Israel,
6 neither to many peoples of high word, and of unknown language, of which thou mayest not hear the words. And if thou were sent to them, they should hear thee. (nor to great peoples of difficult and unknown languages, of which thou cannot understand the words. Though if thou had been sent to them, they would have listened to thee.)
7 But the house of Israel will not hear thee, for they will not hear me. For all the house of Israel is of defouled, either of unshamefast, forehead, and of hard heart. (But the house of Israel will not listen to thee, for they will not listen to me. For all the house of Israel is of defiled, or of defiant, face, and of hard, or stubborn, heart.)
8 Lo! I gave thy face stronger than the faces of them, and thy forehead harder than the foreheads of them. (Behold! I made thy face stronger than their faces, and thy head harder than their heads, (or thy stubbornness stronger than their stubbornness).)
9 And I gave thy face as an adamant, and as a flint; dread thou not them, neither dread thou of the face of them, for it is an house stirring to wrath. (And I made thy face like adamant, yea, harder than flint; do not thou fear them, nor fear thou their faces, though it is a house stirring me to anger.)
10 And he said to me, Son of man, take in thine heart, and hear with thine ears all these my words, which I speak to thee.
11 And go thou, and enter to the passing over, to the sons of thy people. And thou shalt speak to them, and thou shalt say to them, The Lord God saith these things, if peradventure they hear, and rest. (And go thou, and enter in to the exiles, or to the captives, to the nation of thy people. And thou shalt speak to them, and thou shalt say to them, whether they listen to you or not, The Lord God saith these things.)
12 And the spirit took me, and I heard after me the voice of a great moving. The blessed glory of the Lord was heard from his place; (And the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great rushing, as the blessed glory of the Lord was heard from his place;)
13 and I heard the voice of (the) wings of the beasts smiting one another, and the voice of (the) wheels following the beasts, and the voice of a great stirring. (and I heard the sound of the wings of the creatures, striking one another, and the sound of the wheels following the creatures, and the sound of a great stirring.)
14 Also the spirit raised me, and took me. And I went forth bitter in the indignation of my spirit; for the hand of the Lord was with me, and comforted me. (And the spirit raised me up, and took me away. And I went forth in the bitterness and the anger of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was with me, and was strong upon me.)
15 And I came to the passing over, to the heap of new fruits, to them that dwelled beside the flood Chebar. And I sat where they sat, and I dwelled there seven days, wailing, in the midst of them. (And I came to the exiles, or to the captives, at Telabib, to those who lived by the Chebar River. And I sat where they sat, and I stayed there seven days, wailing, in the midst of them.)
16 Forsooth when seven days were passed, the word of the Lord was made to me, and said,
17 Son of man, I gave thee to be an espyer, or a beholder, to the house of Israel. And thou shalt hear of my mouth a word, and thou shalt tell [it] to them of me. (Son of man, I gave thee to be a lookout, or a watchman, to the house of Israel. And thou shalt hear a word from my mouth, and thou shalt tell it to them for me.)
18 If when I say to the wicked man, Thou shalt die by death, (and) thou tellest it not to him, and speakest not to him, that he be turned from his wicked way, and live; that wicked man shall die in his wickedness, but I shall seek his blood of thine hand. (If when I say to the wicked person, Thou shalt die, and thou tellest it not to him, and speakest not to him, so that he is turned from his wicked ways, and live; that wicked person shall die in his wickedness, but I shall seek payment for his blood from thee.)
19 Forsooth if thou tellest to the wicked man, and he is not converted from his wickedness, and from his wicked way; soothly he shall die in his wickedness, but thou hast delivered thy soul. (But if thou tellest to the wicked person, and he is not turned from his wickedness, and from his wicked ways; truly he shall die in his wickedness, but thou hast saved thy own soul or but thou hast saved thy own life.)
20 But also if a just man is turned from his rightfulness, and doeth wickedness, I shall set an hurting before him; he shall die, for thou toldest not to him; he shall die in his sin, and his rightfulnesses, which he did, shall not be in mind, but I shall seek his blood of thine hand. (And also if a just, or a righteous, person is turned from his righteousness, and doeth wickedness, I shall set a cause of stumbling before him; and he shall die, for thou hast not told him; he shall die in his sin, and his righteousnesses, which he did, shall not be remembered, but I shall seek payment for his blood from thee.)
21 Forsooth if thou tellest to a just man, that a just man do not sin, and he sin not, he living shall live, for thou toldest to him, and thou hast delivered thy soul. (But if thou tellest to a just, or a righteous, person, that a just person should not sin, and in deed he sin not, he shall live, for thou hast told him, and thou hast delivered thy own soul or and thou hast saved thy own life.)
22 And the hand of the Lord was made [up] on me, and he said to me, Rise thou (up), and go out into the field, and there I shall speak with thee.
23 And I rose (up), and went out into the field. And lo! the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw beside the flood Chebar, (or And behold! the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I saw by the Chebar River); and I fell down on my face.
24 And the spirit entered into me, and setted me on my feet. And he spake to me, and said to me, Enter thou, and be thou (en)closed in the midst of thine house.
25 And thou, son of man, lo! bonds be given on thee, (or And thou, son of man, behold! bonds be put upon thee), and they shall bind thee with those, and thou shalt not go out in(to) the midst of them.
26 And I shall make thy tongue to cleave to the roof of thy mouth, and thou shalt be dumb, and thou shalt not be as a man rebuking; for it is an house stirring to wrath. (And I shall make thy tongue to cleave to the roof of thy mouth, and thou shalt be dumb, and thou shalt not rebuke them; though it is a house stirring me to anger.)
27 But when I shall speak to thee, I shall open thy mouth, and thou shalt say to them, The Lord saith these things, He that heareth, hear, and he that resteth, rest; for it is an house stirring to wrath. (But when I shall speak to thee, I shall open thy mouth, and thou shalt say to them, The Lord saith these things, He who shall listen, listen, and he who shall not listen, do not listen; for it is a house stirring me to anger.)