Ezekiel 24:3–13

³Tell my rebellious people this parable that I, the Sovereign Lord, have for them:

Set the pot on the fire

and fill it up with water.

⁴Put in the best pieces of meat—

the shoulders and the legs—

fill it with choice bony pieces too.

⁵Use the meat of the finest sheep;

pile the wood^b under the pot.

Let the water boil;

boil the bones and the meat.”

⁶This is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: “The city of murderers is doomed! It is like a corroded pot that is never cleaned. Piece after piece of meat is taken out, and not one is left. ⁷There was murder in the city, but the blood was not spilt on the ground where the dust could hide it; it was spilt on a bare rock. ⁸I have left the blood there, where it cannot be hidden, where it demands angry revenge.”

⁹This is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: “The city of murderers is doomed! I myself will pile up the firewood. ¹⁰Bring more wood! Fan the flames! Cook the meat! Boil away the broth!^c Burn up the bones! ¹¹Now set the empty bronze pot on the coals and let it get red-hot. Then the pot will be ritually pure again after the corrosion is burnt off, ¹²although all that corrosion will not disappear in the flames.^{d 13}Jerusalem, your immoral actions have defiled you. Although I tried to purify you, you remained defiled. You will not be pure again until you have felt the full force of my anger.