New Century Version NCV
Good News Translation GNT
1 Then the Lord said to me, "Human, eat what you ind; eat this scroll. Then go and speak to the people of Israel."
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God said, "Mortal man, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel."
2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
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So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 He said to me, "Human, eat this scroll which I am giving you, and fill your stomach with it." Then I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
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He said, "Mortal man, eat this scroll that I give you; fill your stomach with it." I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey.
4 Then he said to me, "Human, go to the people of Israel, and speak my words to them.
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Then God said, "Mortal man, go to the people of Israel and say to them whatever I tell you to say.
5 You are not being sent to people whose speech you can't understand, whose language is difficult. You are being sent to Israel.
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I am not sending you to a nation that speaks a difficult foreign language, but to the Israelites.
6 You are not being sent to many nations whose speech you can't understand, whose language is difficult, whose words you cannot understand. If I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
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If I sent you to great nations that spoke difficult languages you didn't understand, they would listen to you.
7 But the people of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, because they are not willing to listen to me. Yes, all the people of Israel are stubborn and will not obey.
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But none of the people of Israel will be willing to listen; they will not even listen to me. All of them are stubborn and defiant.
8 See, I now make you as stubborn and as hard as they are.
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Now I will make you as stubborn and as tough as they are.
9 I am making you as hard as a diamond, harder than stone. Don't be afraid of them or be frightened by them, though they are a people who turn against me."
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I will make you as firm as a rock, as hard as a diamond; don't be afraid of those rebels."
10 Also, he said to me, "Human, believe all the words I will speak to you, and listen carefully to them.
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God continued, "Mortal man, pay close attention and remember everything I tell you.
11 Then go to the captives, your own people, and say to them, 'The Lord God says this.' Tell them this whether they listen or not."
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Then go to the people of your nation who are in exile and tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them, whether they pay attention to you or not."
12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me, saying, "Praise the glory of the Lord in heaven."
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Then God's spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the loud roar of a voice that said, "Praise the glory of the Lord in heaven above!"
13 I heard the wings of the living creatures touching each other and the sound of the wheels by them. It was a loud rumbling sound.
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I heard the wings of the creatures beating together in the air, and the noise of the wheels, as loud as an earthquake.
14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I was unhappy and angry, and I felt the great power of the Lord.
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The power of the Lord came on me with great force, and as his spirit carried me off, I felt bitter and angry.
15 I came to the captives from Judah, who lived by the Kebar River at Tel Abib. I sat there seven days where these people lived, feeling shocked.
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So I came to Tel Abib beside the Chebar River, where the exiles were living, and for seven days I stayed there, overcome by what I had seen and heard.
16 After seven days the Lord spoke his word to me again. He said,
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After the seven days had passed, the Lord spoke to me.
17 "Human, I now make you a watchman for Israel. Any time you hear a word from my mouth, warn them for me.
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"Mortal man," he said, "I am making you a lookout for the nation of Israel. You will pass on to them the warnings I give you.
18 When I say to the wicked, 'You will surely die,' you must warn them so they may live. If you don't speak out to warn the wicked to stop their evil ways, they will die in their sin. But I will hold you responsible for their death.
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If I announce that someone evil is going to die but you do not warn him to change his ways so that he can save his life, he will die, still a sinner, but I will hold you responsible for his death.
19 If you warn the wicked and they do not turn from their wickedness or their evil ways, they will die because of their sin. But you will have saved your life.
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If you do warn an evil man and he doesn't stop sinning, he will die, still a sinner, but your life will be spared.
20 "Again, those who do right may turn away from doing good and do evil. If I make something bad happen to them, they will die. Because you have not warned them, they will die because of their sin, and the good they did will not be remembered. But I will hold you responsible for their deaths.
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"If someone truly good starts doing evil and I put him in a dangerous situation, he will die if you do not warn him. He will die because of his sins - I will not remember the good he did - and I will hold you responsible for his death.
21 But if you have warned those good people not to sin, and they do not sin, they will surely live, because they believed the warning. And you will have saved your life."
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If you do warn a good man not to sin and he listens to you and doesn't sin, he will stay alive, and your life will also be spared."
22 Then I felt the power of the Lord there. He said to me, "Get up and go out to the plain. There I will speak to you."
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I felt the powerful presence of the Lord and heard him say to me, "Get up and go out into the valley. I will talk to you there."
23 So I got up and went out to the plain. I saw the glory of the Lord standing there, like the glory I saw by the Kebar River, and I bowed facedown on the ground.
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So I went out into the valley, and there I saw the glory of the Lord, just as I had seen it beside the Chebar River. I fell face downward on the ground,
24 Then the Spirit entered me and made me stand on my feet. He spoke to me and said, "Go, shut yourself up in your house.
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but God's spirit entered me and raised me to my feet. The Lord said to me, "Go home and shut yourself up in the house.
25 As for you, human, the people will tie you up with ropes so that you will not be able to go out among them.
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You will be tied with ropes, mortal man, and you will not be able to go out in public.
26 Also, I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so you will be silent. You will not be able to argue with the people, even though they turn against me.
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I will paralyze your tongue so that you won't be able to warn these rebellious people.
27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you will say to them, 'The Lord God says this.' Those who will listen, let them listen. Those who refuse, let them refuse, because they are a people who turn against me.
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Then, when I speak to you again and give you back the power of speech, you will tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying. Some of them will listen, but some will ignore you, for they are a nation of rebels."
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.