Ezekiel 24:3–13

Tell this company of rebels a story:

“ ‘Put on the soup pot.

Fill it with water.

Put chunks of meat into it,

all the choice pieces—loin and brisket.

Pick out the best soup bones

from the best of the sheep in the flock.

Pile wood beneath the pot.

Bring it to a boil

and cook the soup.

⁶“ ‘God, the Master, says:

“ ‘Doom to the city of murder,

to the pot thick with scum,

thick with a filth that can’t be scoured.

Empty the pot piece by piece;

don’t bother who gets what.

^7–8“ ‘The blood from murders

has stained the whole city;

Blood runs bold on the street stones,

with no one bothering to wash it off—

Blood out in the open to public view

to provoke my wrath,

to trigger my vengeance.

^9–12“ ‘Therefore, this is what God, the Master, says:

“ ‘Doom to the city of murder!

I, too, will pile on the wood.

Stack the wood high,

light the match,

Cook the meat, spice it well, pour out the broth,

and then burn the bones.

Then I’ll set the empty pot on the coals

and heat it red-hot so the bronze glows,

So the germs are killed

and the corruption is burned off.

But it’s hopeless. It’s too far gone.

The filth is too thick.

^13–14“ ‘Your encrusted filth is your filthy sex. I wanted to clean you up, but you wouldn’t let me. I’ll make no more attempts at cleaning you up until my anger quiets down.