The Message Bible MSG
New Living Translation NLT
1 He told me, "Son of man, eat what you see. Eat this book. Then go and speak to the family of Israel."
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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.”
2 As I opened my mouth, he gave me the scroll to eat,
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So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll.
3 saying, "Son of man, eat this book that I am giving you. Make a full meal of it!" So I ate it. It tasted so good - just like honey.
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“Fill your stomach with this,” he said. And when I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4 Then he told me, "Son of man, go to the family of Israel and speak my Message.
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Then he said, “Son of man, go to the people of Israel and give them my messages.
5 Look, I'm not sending you to a people who speak a hard-to-learn language with words you can hardly pronounce.
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I am not sending you to a foreign people whose language you cannot understand.
6 If I had sent you to such people, their ears would have perked up and they would have listened immediately.
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No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen!
7 "But it won't work that way with the family of Israel. They won't listen to you because they won't listen to me. They are, as I said, a hard case, hardened in their sin.
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But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn.
8 But I'll make you as hard in your way as they are in theirs.
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But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are.
9 I'll make your face as hard as rock, harder than granite. Don't let them intimidate you. Don't be afraid of them, even though they're a bunch of rebels."
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I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock! So don’t be afraid of them or fear their angry looks, even though they are rebels.”
10 Then he said, "Son of man, get all these words that I'm giving you inside you. Listen to them obediently. Make them your own.
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Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.
11 And now go. Go to the exiles, your people, and speak. Tell them, 'This is the Message of God, the Master.' Speak your piece, whether they listen or not."
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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.”
12 Then the Spirit picked me up. Behind me I heard a great commotion - "Blessed be the Glory of God in his Sanctuary!"
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Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me. (May the glory of the LORD be praised in his place!)
13 - the wings of the living creatures beating against each other, the whirling wheels, the rumble of a great earthquake.
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It was the sound of the wings of the living beings as they brushed against each other and the rumbling of their wheels beneath them.
14 The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went bitterly and angrily. I didn't want to go. But God had me in his grip.
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The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I went in bitterness and turmoil, but the LORD ’s hold on me was strong.
15 I arrived among the exiles who lived near the Kebar River at Tel Aviv. I came to where they were living and sat there for seven days, appalled.
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Then I came to the colony of Judean exiles in Tel-abib, beside the Kebar River. I was overwhelmed and sat among them for seven days.
16 At the end of the seven days, I received this Message from God:
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After seven days the LORD gave me a message. He said,
17 "Son of man, I've made you a watchman for the family of Israel. Whenever you hear me say something, warn them for me.
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“Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately.
18 If I say to the wicked, 'You are going to die,' and you don't sound the alarm warning them that it's a matter of life or death, they will die and it will be your fault. I'll hold you responsible.
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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.
19 But if you warn the wicked and they keep right on sinning anyway, they'll most certainly die for their sin, but you won't die. You'll have saved your life.
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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.
20 "And if the righteous turn back from living righteously and take up with evil when I step in and put them in a hard place, they'll die. If you haven't warned them, they'll die because of their sins, and none of the right things they've done will count for anything - and I'll hold you responsible.
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“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.
21 But if you warn these righteous people not to sin and they listen to you, they'll live because they took the warning - and again, you'll have saved your life."
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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.”
22 God grabbed me by the shoulder and said, "Get up. Go out on the plain. I want to talk with you."
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Then the LORD took hold of me and said, “Get up and go out into the valley, and I will speak to you there.”
23 So I got up and went out on the plain. I couldn't believe my eyes: the Glory of God! Right there! It was like the Glory I had seen at the Kebar River. I fell to the ground, prostrate.
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So I got up and went, and there I saw the glory of the LORD, just as I had seen in my first vision by the Kebar River. And I fell face down on the ground.
24 Then the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. He said, "Go home and shut the door behind you."
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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.
25 And then something odd: "Son of man: They'll tie you hand and foot with ropes so you can't leave the house.
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There, son of man, you will be tied with ropes so you cannot go out among the people.
26 I'll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so you won't be able to talk and tell the people what they're doing wrong, even though they are a bunch of rebels.
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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.
27 "But then when the time is ripe, I'll free your tongue and you'll say, 'This is what God, the Master, says: . . .' From then on it's up to them. They can listen or not listen, whichever they like. They are a bunch of rebels!
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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.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.