5. I am not sending you to some foreigners you cannot understand. You don’t have to learn another language. I am sending you to the family of Israel.
6. I am not sending you to many different countries where people speak languages you cannot understand. If you went to those people and spoke to them, they would listen to you. But you will not have to learn those hard languages.
7. No, I am sending you to the family of Israel. Only, these people have hard heads—they are very stubborn! And the people of Israel will refuse to listen to you. They don’t want to listen to me.
8. But I will make you just as stubborn as they are, and your head just as hard.
9. A diamond is harder than flint rock. In the same way you will be more stubborn than they are, and your head will be harder. Then you will not be afraid of them or those who always turn against me.”
10. Then God said to me, “Son of man, listen to every word I say to you and remember them.
11. Then go to all of your people in exile and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says ….’ They will not listen, and they will not stop sinning, but you must still tell them my message.”
12. Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a voice behind me. It was very loud, like thunder. It said, “Blessed is the Glory of the Lord!”
13. Then the wings of the living beings began moving. The wings made a very loud noise as they touched each other, and the wheels in front of them began making a noise as loud as thunder.
14. The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I was very sad and upset in my spirit, but I felt the Lord’S power in me.
15. I went to the people of Israel who were forced to live in Tel Aviv by the Kebar Canal. I sat there among them for seven days, shocked and silent.
16. After seven days, the word of the Lord came to me. He said,
17. “Son of man, I am making you a watchman for Israel. I will tell you about bad things that will happen to them, and you must warn Israel.
18. If I say, ‘These evil people will die!’ Then you must warn them. You must tell them to change their lives and stop doing evil. If you don’t warn them, they will die because they sinned. But I will also make you responsible for their death, because you did not go to them and save their lives.