Chapter 3

  And he said to me, Son of man, take this roll for your food, and go and say my words to the children of Israel.  

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  And, on my opening my mouth, he made me take the roll as food.  

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  And he said to me, Son of man, let your stomach make a meal of it and let your inside be full of this roll which I am giving you. Then I took it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.  

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  And he said to me, Son of man, go now to the children of Israel, and say my words to them.  

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  For you are not sent to a people whose talk is strange and whose language is hard, but to the children of Israel;  

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  Not to a number of peoples whose talk is strange and whose language is hard and whose words are not clear to you. Truly, if I sent you to them they would give ear to you.  

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  But the children of Israel will not give ear to you; for they have no mind to give ear to me: for all the children of Israel have a hard brow and a stiff heart.  

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  See, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your brow hard against their brows.  

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  Like a diamond harder than rock I have made your brow: have no fear of them and do not be overcome by their looks, for they are an uncontrolled people.  

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  Then he said to me, Son of man, take into your heart all my words which I am about to say to you, and let your ears be open to them.  

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  And go now to those who have been taken away as prisoners, to the children of your people, and say to them, This is what the Lord has said; if they give ear or if they do not.  

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  Then I was lifted up by the wind, and at my back the sound of a great rushing came to my ears when the glory of the Lord was lifted up from his place.  

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  And there was the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another, and the sound of the wheels at their side, the sound of a great rushing.  

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  And the wind, lifting me up, took me away: and I went in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was strong on me.  

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  Then I came to those who had been taken away as prisoners, who were at Telabib by the river Chebar, and I was seated among them full of wonder for seven days.  

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  And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,  

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  Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the children of Israel: so give ear to the word of my mouth, and give them word from me of their danger.  

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  When I say to the evil-doer, Death will certainly be your fate; and you give him no word of it and say nothing to make clear to the evil-doer the danger of his evil way, so that he may be safe; that same evil man will come to death in his evil-doing; but I will make you responsible for his blood.  

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  But if you give the evil-doer word of his danger, and he is not turned from his sin or from his evil way, death will overtake him in his evil-doing; but your life will be safe.  

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  Again, when an upright man, turning away from his righteousness, does evil, and I put a cause of falling in his way, death will overtake him: because you have given him no word of his danger, death will overtake him in his evil-doing, and there will be no memory of the upright acts which he has done; but I will make you responsible for his blood.  

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  But if you say to the upright man that he is not to do evil, he will certainly keep his life because he took note of your word; and your life will be safe.  

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  And the hand of the Lord was on me there; and he said, Get up and go out into the valley and there I will have talk with you.  

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  Then I got up and went out into the valley; and I saw the glory of the Lord resting there as I had seen it by the river Chebar; and I went down on my face.  

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  Then the spirit came into me and put me on my feet; and he had talk with me and said to me, Go and keep yourself shut up inside your house.  

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  But see, O son of man, I will put bands on you, prisoning you in them, and you will not go out among them:  

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  And I will make your tongue fixed to the roof of your mouth, so that you have no voice and may not make protests to them: for they are an uncontrolled people.  

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  But when I have talk with you I will make your mouth open, and you are to say to them, This is what the Lord has said: Let the hearer give ear; and as for him who will not, let him keep his ears shut: for they are an uncontrolled people.  

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