Ezekiel Portrays the Removal into Captivity

121 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying , 2 "Son of man , you live in the midst of the rebellious house , who have eyes to see but do not see , ears to hear but do not hear ; for they are a rebellious house . 3 "Therefore, son of man , prepare for yourself baggage for exile and go into exile by day in their sight ; even go into exile from your place to another place in their sight . Perhaps they will understand though they are a rebellious house . 4 "Bring your baggage out by day in their sight , as baggage for exile . Then you will go out at evening in their sight , as those going into exile . 5 "Dig a hole through the wall in their sight and go out through it. 6 "Load the baggage on your shoulder in their sight and carry it out in the dark . You shall cover your face so that you cannot see the land , for I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel ." 7 I did so , as I had been commanded . By day I brought out my baggage like the baggage of an exile . Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands ; I went out in the dark and carried the baggage on my shoulder in their sight . 8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me, saying , 9 "Son of man , has not the house of Israel , the rebellious house , said to you, ' What are you doing ?' 10 "Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem as well as all the house of Israel who are in it."' 11 "Say , 'I am a sign to you. As I have done , so it will be done to them; they will go into exile , into captivity .' 12 "The prince who is among them will load his baggage on his shoulder in the dark and go out. They will dig a hole through the wall to bring it out. He will cover his face so e that he can not see the land with his eyes . 13 "I will also spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare . And I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans ; yet he will not see it, though he will die there . 14 "I will scatter to every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops ; and I will draw out a sword after them. 15 "So they will know that I am the Lord when I scatter them among the nations and spread them among the countries . 16 "But I will spare a few of them from the sword , the famine and the pestilence that they may tell all their abominations among the nations where e they go , and may know that I am the Lord ."

17 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying , 18 "Son of man , eat your bread with trembling and drink your water with quivering and anxiety . 19 "Then say to the people of the land , 'Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel , "They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with horror , because their land will be stripped of its fullness on account of the violence of all who live in it. 20 "The inhabited cities will be laid waste and the land will be a desolation . So you will know that I am the Lord .""'

21 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying , 22 "Son of man , what is this proverb you people have concerning the land of Israel , saying , 'The days are long and every vision fails '? 23 "Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "I will make this proverb cease so that they will no longer use it as a proverb in Israel ." But tell them, " The days draw near as well as the fulfillment of every vision . 24 "For there will no longer be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel . 25 "For I the Lord will speak , and whatever word I speak will be performed . It will no longer be delayed , for in your days , O rebellious house , I will speak the word and perform it," declares the Lord GOD .' " 26 Furthermore, the word of the Lord came to me, saying , 27 "Son of man , behold , the house of Israel is saying , 'The vision that he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies of times far off .' 28 "Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "None e of My words will be delayed any longer . Whatever e word I speak will be performed ,""' declares the Lord GOD .

31 Then He said to me, "Son of man , eat what you find ; eat this scroll , and go , speak to the house of Israel ." 2 So I opened my mouth , and He fed me this scroll . 3 He said to me, "Son of man , feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you." Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth . 4 Then He said to me, "Son of man , go e to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. 5 "For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language , but to the house of Israel , 6 nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language , whose words you cannot understand . But I have sent you to them who should listen to you; 7 yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn e and obstinate e . 8 "Behold , I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads . 9 "Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead . Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before e them, though they are a rebellious house ." 10 Moreover, He said to me, "Son of man , take into your heart all My words which I will speak to you and listen closely . 11 "Go to the exiles , to the sons of your people , and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, 'Thus says the Lord GOD .' " 12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me, "Blessed be the glory of the Lord in His place ." 13 And I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another and the sound of the wheels beside them, even a great rumbling sound . 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit , and the hand of the Lord was strong on me. 15 Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the river Chebar at Tel-abib , and I sat there seven days where they were living , causing consternation among them.

A Watchman to Israel

16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying , 17 "Son of man , I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel ; whenever you hear a word from My mouth , warn them from Me. 18 "When I say to the wicked , 'You will surely die ,' and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live , that wicked man shall die in his iniquity , but his blood I will require at your hand . 19 "Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way , he shall die in his iniquity ; but you have delivered yourself . 20 "Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity , and I place an obstacle before him, he will die ; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin , and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered ; but his blood I will require at your hand . 21 "However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin , he shall surely live because he took warning ; and you have delivered yourself ."

The Prophet Made Dumb

22 The hand of the Lord was on me there , and He said to me, "Get up, go out to the plain , and there I will speak to you." 23 So I got up and went out to the plain ; and behold , the glory of the Lord was standing there , like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar , and I fell on my face . 24 The Spirit then entered me and made me stand on my feet , and He spoke with me and said to me, "Go , shut yourself up in your house . 25 "As for you, son of man , they will put ropes on you and bind you with them so that you cannot go out among them. 26 "Moreover, I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute and cannot be a man who rebukes them, for they are a rebellious house . 27 "But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD .' He who hears , let him hear ; and he who refuses , let him refuse ; for they are a rebellious house .