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1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.

5 For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;

6 Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.

7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.

8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

12 Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place.

13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.

14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.

15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

22 And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.

23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.

24 Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.

25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:

26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.

27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

<html><b>so I ate, and in my mouth, etc.</b> I accepted it, and its words were in my mouth as sweet honey.</html>

<html><b>of an unfathomable language</b> Who have a deep language, which you do not understand. <b>to the house of Israel</b> But to the house of Israel I send you, whose language is like your language.</html>

<html><b>had I sent you to them, etc.</b> [lit. had I not sent you to them, they would hearken to you.] This is an expression of an oath: Had I sent you to themas I live, if they would not hearken to you! [i.e.,] this is a transposed verse.</html>

<html><b>As shamir</b> It is a kind of worm, to which they show a stone, and it [the stone] splits in front of it. [Gloss: Another explanation: Shumir is a term for a strong rock, and in Targum Yerushalmi it is used as the translation of צוּר, rock, and so too is the Targum of מִצוּר הָחֲלָמִישּׂ as מִשְּׂמִיר טִנָרָא “out of the flinty rock” (Deut. 8:15). Shamir also means the strongest iron. For just as the strongest rock is called shamir, so is the [element] iron called shamir because of its strength. [This does not appear in all editions.]</html>

<html><b>So said the Lord God</b> this prophecy, to say it to you. <b>whether they will listen or they will forbear</b> you say it to them.</html>

<html><b>And a wind lifted me up</b> After He finished His words, He commanded the wind to carry me to the place where the people of the exile were.</html>

<html><b>touching</b> Heb. מַשִּׁיקוֹת, an expression of kissing (נְשִּׁיקָה). They would knock one against the other, and a song was heard with their knocking, as he said above (1:24): “And I heard the sound of their wings.”</html>

<html><b>and I went, embittered</b> because it was distasteful to me to chide the children of my people. <b>and the hand of the Lord became strong upon me</b> His coercion and His strength to lead me against my will.</html>

<html><b>Tel Aviv</b> To Tel Aviv, a place name. <b>bewildered</b> Heb. מַשְּׁמִים, bewildered, a man silenced and unable to speak.</html>

<html><b>I have made you a lookout</b> Why are you silent? Is it not as a lookoutone who is appointed over the towers to see to it that if armies come to the city, the shofar shall be sounded to warn the people to gather and strengthen themselves—that I have appointed you; to warn them to beware of retribution, so that I need not bring it upon them.</html>

<html><b>I shall place a stumbling block before him</b> When he does his deeds in secret and displays himself as a righteous man, I place an overt sin before him in order to reveal his deeds, and when I bring evil upon him, they will not question Me. <b>and his righteous deeds…will not be remembered</b> Our Rabbis explained this as referring to one who regrets his first oneshe regrets the first righteous deeds that he performed.</html>

<html><b>and behold, there the glory of the Lord we standing</b> He went there before me, [thereby demonstrating] a trait of extreme humility, such as is not conventional for a flesh and blood person to practice: [As a rule,] the disciple awaits the Master, whereas here, the Master awaits the disciple.</html>

<html><b>confine yourself within your house</b> to show them that they are not worthy of reproof.</html>

<html><b>behold they have placed ropes upon you</b> Be imprisoned in your house as if you were bound with ropes. This is also how Jonathan paraphrases it: Behold the decree of My words upon you is like the binding of ropes, etc.</html>

<html><b>And when I speak with you</b> When I shall wish to speak with you, I shall send you to them. <b>and you shall say to them, “So said the Lord God”</b> all the words of My message. <b>He who listens will listen</b> This is not part of the mission. Rather, the holy spirit told the prophet, “You tell them My message, and as for them, he who listens will listen, and he who forbears will forbear, for I know that not all of them will listen, for they are a rebellious house.”</html>