“The Spirit came into me as He spoke, and He set me on my feet. I listened carefully to His words. Son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not join them in their rebellion.
Open your mouth, and eat what I give you.” Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me. It held a scroll, which he unrolled. And I saw that both sides were covered with funeral songs, words of sorrow, and pronouncements of doom.
The voice said to me, “Son of man, eat what I am giving you—eat this scroll! Then go and give its message to the people of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll. “Fill your stomach with this,” He said. And when I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
Then He added, Son of man, let all My words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. Then go to your people in exile and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ Do this whether they listen to you or not.
Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from Me, warn people immediately. If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me.
If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.
Then the Spirit came into me and set me on my feet. He spoke to me and said, Go to your house and shut yourself in. There, son of man, you will be tied with ropes so you cannot go out among the people.
And I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be speechless and unable to rebuke them, for they are rebels. But when I give you a message, I will loosen your tongue and let you speak. Then you will say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ Those who choose to listen will listen, but those who refuse will refuse, for they are rebels.”
{Ezekiel 2:2, 8-10; 3:1-3, 10-11, 17-21, 24-27}