1 “Muna gwomuntu, lya po ondhinga yembo ndjika, opo u ye u ka hunganekele Aaisraeli.”
2 Onda makula okana kandje, nokwa pe ndje ondhinga yembo, ndi yi lye po. 3 Okwa ti: “Muna gwomuntu, lya po ondhinga yembo ndjika tandi yi ku pe, kutitha nayo ela lyoye.” Onde yi li po, noya li yi na omulyo gwa fa omagadhi goonyushi.
4 Kalunga okwa ti: “Muna gwomuntu, inda kAaisraeli, u ya lombwele shoka tandi shi ku lombwele. 5 Itandi ku tumu koshigwana shoka hashi popi elaka lyaatakumi, ihe okAaisraeli. 6 Ngele otandi ku tumu kiigwana mbyoka hayi popi elaka waa li uvite ko, otaye ke ku pulakena. 7 Ihe kape na nando ogumwe gwomAaisraeli ta ka hala a pulakene; nokuli itaa ka pulakena ndje nando. Ayehe oyo aatangalali ye na omanganga. 8 Ngashingeyi otandi ku ningi omukukutu wa kindja we ya fa. 9 Otandi ke ku ninga omukukutu wa fa emanya nongaashi ondiamande; ino tila aatangalali mboka.”
10 Kalunga okwa tsikile a ti: “Muna gwomuntu, taamba oohapu dhandje adhihe tandi dhi ku lombwele. Dhi dhimbulukwa nawa. 11 Inda ihe kaapongekwa aakweni, u ya lombwele shoka ngame, Omuwa Omupangeliawike, tandi ya lombwele, ngele otaye ku pulakene nenge aawe.”
12 Ombepo yaKalunga oya yambula ndje po, nondu uvu konima yandje ewi enene tali ndunduma tali ti: “Hambeleleni esimano lyOmuwa megulu pombanda!” 13 Ondu uvu oshihomo shomawawa giinamwenyo, sho tagi idhenge kumwe mewangandjo, nekolokoto lyomagulu lya fa epupo lyekakamo lyevi. 14 Oonkondo dhOmuwa odha kwata ndje, nOmbepo ye oye enditha ndje, nonda adhika koshinyenu nda geya. 15 Onde ya kuTel Abib pomulonga Kebar, nkoka kwa kala aapongekwa, nonda kala ko omasiku gaheyali nda kwatwa kushoka nda monene nonde shi uvile.
Omuwa ta langeke Hesekiel a ninge omulangeli
16 Omasiku gaheyali sho ga piti po, Omuwa okwa lombwele ndje a ti: 17 “Muna gwomuntu, otandi ku ningi omulangeli gwoshigwana Israel. Ou na oku ya londodha nomalondodho tandi ge ku lombwele. 18 Ngele otandi tomona kutya omulunde ota ka sa, ihe ngoye ito mu londodha, i itedhulule nokweetha oondjila dhe oombwinayi, ota ka sila muulunde we, ihe ombinzi ye otandi yi ku pula. 19 Ngele oto londodha omulunde, a ethe uulunde we, ihe ye ite shi ningi, nena ota ka sila muulunde we, ihe ngoye owa hupitha omwenyo gwoye.
20 “Omuyuuki ngele ote etha uuyuuki we nokuyona, notandi mu tula moshiponga, ota ka sa, ngele ino mu londodha. Ota sile muulunde we, nuuyuuki we itau dhimbulukiwa we, ihe ombinzi ye otandi yi ku pula. 21 Ngele oto londodha omuyuuki, opo kaa yone, oye note ku pulakene noita yono, ota kala e na omwenyo, nangoye wa hupitha omwenyo gwoye.”
Hesekiel ta nyengwa okupopya
22 Oshikaha shOmuwa osha li kombanda yandje, oye nokwa lombwele ndje a ti: “Thikama, u ye molusilu. Omo tandi ka popya nangoye.”
23 Onda yi ihe molusilu, nonda mono eadhimo lyaKalunga, naanaa ngaashi nde li mwene pomulonga Kebar. Onda tsu oshipala shandje mevi, 24 ihe Ombepo yaKalunga oya lambele ndje e tayi thikameke ndje. Omuwa okwa lombwele ndje a ti: “Inda megumbo, u ki iyedhilile mo. 25 Muna gwomuntu, otaye ke ku manga noongodhi, opo kuu pite mo u ye mokati kaantu. 26 Otandi ka lemaneka elaka lyoye, opo waa vule okulondodha aantu mbaka aapandala. 27 Ngele tandi ke ku popitha ishewe notandi ka makula okana koye, nena oto ke ya lombwela shoka ngame, Omuwa Omupangeliawike, tandi ti. Yamwe yomuyo otaa ka pulakena, ihe yamwe itaye ke ku pulakena, oshoka oyo aantu ye na iityani.”
1 The Lord said, “Ezekiel, son of man, after you eat this scroll, go speak to the people of Israel.”
2-3 He handed me the scroll and said, “Eat this and fill up on it.” So I ate the scroll, and it tasted sweet as honey.
4 The Lord said:
Ezekiel, I am sending you to your own people. 5-6 They are Israelites, not some strangers who speak a foreign language you can't understand. If I were to send you to foreign nations, they would listen to you. 7 But the people of Israel will refuse to listen, because they have refused to listen to me. All of them are stubborn and hardheaded, 8 so I will make you as stubborn as they are. 9 You will be so determined to speak my message that nothing will stop you. I will make you hard like a diamond, and you'll have no reason to be afraid of those arrogant rebels.
10 Listen carefully to everything I say and then think about it. 11 Then go to the people who were brought here to Babylonia with you and tell them you have a message from me, the Lord God. Do this, whether they listen to you or not.
12 The Spirit lifted me up, and as the glory of the Lord started to leave, I heard a loud, thundering noise behind me. 13 It was the sound made by the creatures' wings as they brushed against each other, and by the rumble of the wheels beside them. 14 Then the Spirit carried me away.
The Lord's power had taken complete control of me, and I was both annoyed and angry.
15 When I was back with the others living at Abib Hill near the Chebar River, I sat among them for seven days, shocked at what had happened to me.
The Lord Appoints Ezekiel To Stand Watch
(Ezekiel 33.1-9)16 Seven days after I had seen the brightness of the Lord's glory, the Lord said:
17 Ezekiel, son of man, I have appointed you to stand watch for the people of Israel. So listen to what I say, then warn them for me. 18 When I tell wicked people they will die because of their sins, you must warn them to turn from their sinful ways so they won't be punished. If you refuse, you are responsible for their death. 19 However, if you do warn them, and they keep on sinning, they will die because of their sins, and you will be innocent.
20 Now suppose faithful people start sinning, and I decide to put stumbling blocks in their paths to make them fall. They deserve to die because of their sins. So if you refuse to warn them, I will forget about the times they were faithful, and I will hold you responsible for their death. 21 But if you do warn them, and they listen to you and stop sinning, I will let them live. And you will be innocent.
Ezekiel Cannot Talk
22 The Lord took control of me and said, “Stand up! Go into the valley, and I will talk with you there.”
23 I immediately went to the valley, where I saw the brightness of the Lord's glory, just as I had seen it near the Chebar River, and I bowed with my face to the ground. 24 His Spirit took control of me and lifted me to my feet. Then the Lord said:
Go back and lock yourself in your house! 25 You will be tied up to keep you inside, 26 and I will make you unable to talk or to warn those who have rebelled against me. 27 But the time will come, when I will tell you what to say, and you will again be able to speak my message. Some of them will listen; others will be stubborn and refuse to listen.
