4. Then God said, “Mortal man, go to the people of Israel and say to them whatever I tell you to say.
5. I am not sending you to a nation that speaks a difficult foreign language, but to the Israelites.
6. If I sent you to great nations that spoke difficult languages you didn't understand, they would listen to you.
7. 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. Now I will make you as stubborn and as tough as they are.
9. I will make you as firm as a rock, as hard as a diamond; don't be afraid of those rebels.”
10. God continued, “Mortal man, pay close attention and remember everything I tell you.
11. Then go to your countrymen 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 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!”