Punishment of the Land and Jerusalem

10 He continued, “Son of man, take to heart and listen with your ears to all my words, which I will speak to you. 11 Then go to the exiles, your people,a and speak to them. Tell them that the Lord G says this, whether they listen or not.” 12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great thundering voice behind me: “Blessed be the glory of the L from his place.” 13 I heard the sound of the creatures’ wings brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a great thunderous sound. 14 The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I went with bitterness and a raging spirit, and the hand of the L was strong upon me. 15 I came to the exiles at Tel Aviv,b those who were staying by the Kebar Canal. And I sat there where they were living, overwhelmed, for seven days.

To Be a Watchman

16 At the end of seven days, the word of the L came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the Israelites. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, warn them for me. 18 When I tell the wicked, ‘You’ll surely die,’ but you don’t warn them, speak to warn the wicked to turn from their wicked way and live, that wicked person will die guilty, but I’ll consider you responsible.c 19 But as for you, when you warn the wicked person and they don’t turn from their wickedness and their wicked way, they’ll die guilty, but you will have saved your life.d 20 Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil,

I’ll put a stumbling block before them, and they will die. They will die in their sin because you didn’t warn them. Their righteous acts that they did won’t be remembered, and I’ll consider you responsible. 21 But as for you, if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and they do not sin, they’ll surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved your life.” 22 The L’s hand was upon me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go out to the plain, and I’ll speak to you there.” 23 So I got up and went out to the plain and saw the glory of the L was standing there. It was like the glory that I saw at the

Kebar Canal.

I fell on my face. 24 The Spirit entered me and stood me on my feet, and the Le spoke to me. He said, “Go, shut yourself up inside your house. 25 As for you, son of man, beware; they’ll tie you with ropes. They’ll bind you with them so you cannot go out among them. 26 I’ll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and

a Literally, “the sons of your people.” b “Tel Aviv”: an unknown location in Babylon. c Literally, “I will seek his blood from your hand.” And verse 20. d Or “saved your soul.” And verse 21. e Literally, “he.”