1The Lord said to me, “Son of man, eat what is in front of you. Eat this scroll. Then go and speak to the people of Israel.” 2So I opened my mouth. And he gave me the scroll to eat.
3Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you. Fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it. And it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4Then he said to me, “Son of man, go to the people of Israel. Give them my message. 5I am not sending you to people who speak another language that is hard to learn. Instead, I am sending you to the people of Israel. 6You are not being sent to many nations whose people speak other languages that are hard to learn. You would not be able to understand them. Suppose I had sent you to them. Then they certainly would have listened to you. 7But the people of Israel do not want to listen to you. That is because they do not want to listen to me. All the Israelites are very stubborn. 8But I will make you just as stubborn as they are. 9I will make you very brave. So do not be afraid of them. Do not let them terrify you, even though they refuse to obey me.”
10He continued, “Son of man, listen carefully. Take to heart everything I tell you. 11Go now to your own people who were brought here as prisoners. Speak to them. Tell them, ‘Here is what the Lord and King says.’ Speak to them whether they listen or not.”
12Then the Spirit of the Lord lifted me up. I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me. The sound was made when the glory of the Lord rose up. It rose up from the place it had been standing. 13The sound was made by the wings of the living creatures. They were brushing against one another. The sound was also made by the wheels beside them. It was a loud rumbling sound. 14Then the Spirit lifted me up and took me away. My spirit was bitter. I was very angry. The power of the Lord was on me. 15I came to my people who had been brought as prisoners to Tel Aviv. It was near the Kebar River. I went to where they were living. There I sat among them for seven days. I was very sad and scared about everything that had happened.
The Lord Has Appointed Ezekiel to Warn Israel
16After seven days, a message from the Lord came to me. 17The Lord said, “Son of man, I have appointed you as a prophet to warn the people of Israel. So listen to my message. Give them a warning from me. 18Suppose I say to a sinful person, ‘You can be sure you will die.’ And you do not warn them. You do not try to get them to change their evil ways in order to save their life. Then that sinful person will die because they have sinned. And I will hold you responsible for their death. 19But suppose you do warn that sinful person. And they do not turn away from their sin or their evil ways. Then they will die because they have sinned. But you will have saved yourself.
20“Or suppose a godly person turns away from their godliness and does what is evil. And suppose I put something in their way that will trip them up. Then they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The godly things that person did will not be remembered. And I will hold you responsible for their death. 21But suppose you do warn a godly person not to sin. And they do not sin. Then you can be sure that they will live because they listened to your warning. And you will have saved yourself.”
22The power of the Lord was on me. He said, “Get up. Go out to the plain. I will speak to you there.” 23So I got up and went out to the plain. The glory of the Lord was standing there. It was just like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River. So I fell with my face toward the ground.
24Then the Spirit of the Lord came into me. He raised me to my feet. He said to me, “Go, son of man. Shut yourself inside your house. 25Some people will tie you up with ropes. So you will not be able to go out among your people. 26I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth. Then you will be silent. You will not be able to correct them. That’s because they always refuse to obey me. 27But later I will speak to you. I will open your mouth. Then you will tell them, ‘Here is what the Lord and King says.’ Those who listen will listen. And those who refuse to listen will refuse. They always refuse to obey me.
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1その方は命じました。「人の子よ、わたしが与えるものを食べなさい。さあ、この巻物を食べるのだ。それから出て行って、そのことばをイスラエルの民に告げるのだ。」 2私は巻物を手に取りました。 3「それを残らず食べなさい」と、その方は言います。食べてみると、なんとみつのように甘い味がしました。
4命令はさらに続きます。「人の子よ、あなたをイスラエルの民に遣わす。わたしのことばを携えて行け。 5ことばが通じない遠い外国へ遣わすのではない。 6難しい外国語を話す国に遣わすわけではない。もっとも、そのような国であれば、人々は耳を傾けるだろう。 7わたしがあなたを遣わすのは、イスラエル人のところだ。彼らはわたしの言うことを聞こうとしない。あなたの言うことも聞こうとしないだろう。彼らは強情で、ずうずうしく、頑固なのだ。 8だから、わたしもあなたを彼らと同じように、あつかましい頑固者にした。 9あなたの額を岩よりも堅くした。しかし、彼らがどんなにしぶとい反逆者でも、恐れてはならない。どんなにいやな顔や怒った顔をされても、たじろいではならない。」
10その方は続けて言いました。「人の子よ、まず、わたしのことばをすべて心の奥底に収め、注意深くそれに聞き従いなさい。 11それから、捕囚とされた同胞のところへ行き、彼らが聞いても聞かなくても、『神である主はこう言う』と告げるがいい。」
12すると、御霊が私を持ち上げました。大きな地震のとどろきを伴って、主の栄光が上り始めました。 13それは、生きものたちの翼が互いに触れ合う音と、輪の音でした。 14-15御霊は私を持ち上げると、ケバル川のほとりにある、別のユダヤ人居留地テル・アビブに連れて行きました。私は憤り、苦々しい思いでしたが、神の御手が強く私の上に置かれていました。七日間というもの、私はただ呆然と彼らの中に座っていました。
見張り役としての働き
16七日目の終わりに、主はこう語りました。 17「人の子よ、わたしはあなたをイスラエルの見張り役とした。わたしの民に与える警告をただちに伝えなさい。 18わたしが悪者に、『おまえに死の罰を加える。悔い改めて、自分のいのちを救え』と伝えてほしいとき、そのように警告しないなら、彼らは自分の罪のために死ぬが、わたしはあなたを罰する。彼らの血の責任をあなたに問う。 19だが、あなたがいくら警告しても彼らが罪を犯し続け、いっこうに悔い改めないなら、彼らは自分の罪のために死ぬ。そして、あなたには責任がない。あなたはできるかぎりのことをしたのだから。 20もし善良な人が悪を行っているのに、あなたが警告しないなら、わたしは彼を滅ぼす。以前の善行は何の助けにもならない。彼は自分の罪のために死ぬ。だが、わたしは彼の死の責任をあなたに問い、あなたを罰する。 21もしあなたが警告し、彼が悔い改めるなら、二人とも自分のいのちを救うことになる。」
22私はどうすることもできないで、主の御手の中にありました。主が「さあ、谷間に出て行きなさい。そこであなたと語ろう」と言ったので、 23私はすぐに立って谷間へ出て行きました。すると、ケバル川のほとりで最初に見たのと同じ主の栄光を、そこでも見たのです。私は思わず地面にひれ伏しました。
24それから、御霊が私の中に入り、私を立たせました。主は私に命じました。「行って、家に閉じこもりなさい。 25家から出られないように、あなたの体を動けなくさせる。 26また、あなたの舌を上あごにつかせるので、彼らを責めることができなくなる。彼らは反逆者だからだ。 27だが、わたしがあなたに語るときは、その舌を自由にし、話せるようにする。彼らに『神である主はこう言う』と言いなさい。聞きたい者には聞かせ、聞きたくない者には聞かせてはならない。彼らは反逆者だからだ。
