The Skeptics Annotated Bible (621 page)

11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

(3.12-14) A spirit takes Ezekiel to places where he hears voices, wings, wheels, and whatnot.

12 Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place.

(3.12)
“Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD.”

13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.

(3.13)
“I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.”

14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.

(3.14)
“So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away.”

15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.

16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

(3.18-20) God’s killing rules: If Ezekiel doesn’t warn the wicked that God’s going to kill them for being wicked, God will kill the wicked people and Ezekiel, too. Or God will force Ezekiel to kill the wicked people. Or God will force Ezekiel to kill himself.

If Ezekiel warns the wicked, then God will kill the wicked people (if they don’t change their wicked ways), but not Ezekiel.

If a good person does something wrong after God “lays a stumbling block before him,” then God will kill him. “He shall die in his sin” and whatever good he has done will be forgotten. And Ezekiel will be killed, too, if he didn’t warn the good guy beforehand.

18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

(3.18)
“When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning … the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”

19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

(3.19)
“Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness … he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”

20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

(3.20)
“When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”

21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

22 And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee.

23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.

(3.23) “Behold, the glory of the Lord stood there … and I fell on my face.”

(3.24-26) The spirit (of God?) enters Ezekiel, ties him up, and makes his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth so that he could no longer speak.

24 Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house.

(3.24)
“Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me.”

25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:

(3.25)
“They shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them.”

26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.

(3.26)
“I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb.”

27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

(4.1-3) God tells Ezekiel to make a clay model of Jerusalem, complete with a fort, camp, a battering ram, and an iron pan for a wall around the city. Ezekiel’s clay model and iron pan will be a sign to everyone in Israel.

4
Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:

(4.1)
“Son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it … Jerusalem.”

2 And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.

(4.2)
“Lay siege against it, and build a fort against it … set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.”

3 Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

(4.3)
“Moreover take … an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city … This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.”

(4.4-8) God makes Ezekiel lay on his right side for 390 days, and then on his left side for another 40 days. “And thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days.”