Translation
So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the small scroll.
He said, “Take
and eat it.
It will be bitter in your stomach,
but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”
Paraphrase
So I went to the messenger and asked him to give me the short message. He said, “Receive the contents of this message and internalize them, owning them as your own. The long term ramifications of the message will be tough to accept, but when you first hear it you will see only the positive aspects of it, and you will like them very much.”