Ezekiel 24–26

The Pot and the Meat

24The Lord spoke his word to me in the ninth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month. He said: ²“Human, write down today’s date, this very date. The king of Babylon has surrounded Jerusalem this very day. ³And tell a story to the people who refuse to obey me. Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says:

Put on the pot; put it on

and pour water in it.

⁴Put in the pieces of meat,

the best pieces—the legs and the shoulders.

Fill it with the best bones.

⁵Take the best of the flock,

and pile wood under the pot.

Boil the pieces of meat

until even the bones are cooked.

⁶“ ‘This is what the Lord God says:

How terrible it will be for the city of murderers!

How terrible it will be for the rusty pot

whose rust will not come off!

Take the meat out of it, piece by piece.

Don’t choose any special piece.

⁷“ ‘The blood from her killings is still in the city.

She poured the blood on the bare rock.

She did not pour it on the ground

where dust would cover it.

⁸To stir up my anger and revenge,

I put the blood she spilled on the bare rock

so it will not be covered.

⁹“ ‘So this is what the Lord God says:

How terrible it will be for the city of murderers!

I myself will pile the wood high for burning.

¹⁰Pile up the wood

and light the fire.

Finish cooking the meat.

Mix in the spices,

and let the bones burn.

¹¹Then set the empty pot on the coals

so it may become hot and its copper sides glow.

The dirty scum stuck inside it may then melt

and its rust burn away.

¹²But efforts to clean the pot have failed.

Its heavy rust cannot be removed,

even in the fire.

¹³“ ‘By your sinful action you have become unclean. I wanted to cleanse you, but you are still unclean. You will never be cleansed from your sin until my anger against you is carried out.

¹⁴“ ‘I, the Lord, have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back punishment or feel pity or change my mind. I will judge you by your ways and actions, says the Lord God.’ ”

The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife

¹⁵Then the Lord spoke his word to me, saying: ¹⁶“Human, I am going to take your wife from you, the woman you look at with love. She will die suddenly, but you must not be sad or cry loudly for her or shed any tears. ¹⁷Groan silently; do not cry loudly for the dead. Tie on your turban, and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your face, and do not eat the food people eat when they are sad about a death.”

¹⁸So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.

¹⁹Then the people asked me, “Tell us, what do the things you are doing mean for us?”

²⁰Then I said to them, “The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, ²¹‘Say to the people of Israel, This is what the Lord God says: I am going to dishonor my Temple. You think it gives you strength. You are proud of it, and you look at it with love and tenderness. But your sons and daughters that you left behind in Jerusalem will fall dead by the sword. ²²When that happens, you are to act as I have: you are not to cover your face, and you are not to eat the food people eat when they are sad about a death. ²³Your turbans must stay on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You must not cry loudly, but you must rot away in your sins and groan to each other. ²⁴So Ezekiel is to be an example for you. You must do all the same things he did. When all this happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.’

²⁵“And as for you, human, this is how it will be. I will take away the Temple that gives them strength and joy, that makes them proud. They look at it with love, and it makes them happy. And I will take away their sons and daughters also. ²⁶At that time a person who escapes will come to you with information for you to hear. ²⁷At that very time your mouth will be opened. You will speak and be silent no more. So you will be a sign for them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

Prophecy Against Ammon

25The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: ²“Human, look toward the people of Ammon and prophesy against them. ³Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says: You were glad when my Temple was dishonored, when the land of Israel was ruined, and when the people of Judah were taken away as captives. ⁴So I am going to give you to the people of the East to be theirs. They will set up their camps among you and make their homes among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. ⁵I will make the city of Rabbah a pasture for camels and the land of Ammon a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ⁶This is what the Lord God says: You have clapped your hands and stamped your feet; you have laughed about all the insults you made against the land of Israel. ⁷So I will use my power against you. I will give you to the nations as if you were treasures taken in war. I will wipe you out of the lands so you will no longer be a nation, and I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’

Prophecy Against Moab and Edom

⁸“This is what the Lord God says: ‘Moab and Edom say, “The people of Judah are like all the other nations.” ⁹So I am going to take away the cities that protect Moab’s borders, the best cities in that land: Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. ¹⁰Then I will give Moab, along with the Ammonites, to the people of the East as their possession. Then, along with the Ammonites, Moab will not be a nation anymore. ¹¹So I will punish the people of Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.’

Prophecy Against Edom

¹²“This is what the Lord God says: ‘Edom took revenge on the people of Judah, and the Edomites became guilty because of it. ¹³So this is what the Lord God says: I will use my power against Edom, killing every human and animal in it. And I will destroy Edom all the way from Teman to Dedan as they die in battle. ¹⁴I will use my people Israel to take revenge on Edom. So the Israelites will do to Edom what my hot anger demands. Then the Edomites will know what my revenge feels like, says the Lord God.’

Prophecy Against Philistia

¹⁵“This is what the Lord God says: ‘The Philistines have taken revenge with hateful hearts. Because of their strong hatred, they have tried to destroy Judah. ¹⁶So this is what the Lord God says: I will use my power against the Philistines. I will kill the Kerethites, and I will destroy those people still alive on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. ¹⁷I will punish them in my anger and do great acts of revenge to them. They will know that I am the Lord when I take revenge on them.’ ”

Prophecy Against Tyre

26It was the eleventh year of our captivity, on the first day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: ²“Human, the city of Tyre has spoken against Jerusalem: ‘The city that traded with the nations is destroyed. Now we can be the trading center. Since the city of Jerusalem is ruined, we can make money.’ ³So this is what the Lord God says: I am against you, Tyre. I will bring many nations against you, like the sea beating its waves on your island shores. ⁴They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers. I will also scrape away her ruins and make her a bare rock. ⁵Tyre will be an island where fishermen dry their nets. I have spoken, says the Lord God. The nations will steal treasures from Tyre. ⁶Also, her villages on the shore across from the island will be destroyed by war. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Nebuchadnezzar to Attack Tyre

⁷“This is what the Lord God says: I will bring a king from the north against Tyre. He is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the greatest king, with his horses, chariots, horsemen, and a great army. ⁸He will fight a battle and destroy your villages on the shore across from the island. He will set up devices to attack you. He will build a road of earth to the top of the walls. He will raise his shields against you. ⁹He will bring logs to pound through your city walls, and he will break down your towers with his iron bars. ¹⁰His horses will be so many that they will cover you with their dust. Your walls will shake at the noise of horsemen, wagons, and chariots. The king of Babylon will enter your city gates as men enter a city where the walls are broken through. ¹¹The hoofs of his horses will run over your streets. He will kill your army with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall down to the ground. ¹²Also, his men will take away your riches and will steal the things you sell. They will break down your walls and destroy your nice houses. They will throw your stones, wood, and trash into the sea. ¹³So I will stop your songs; the music of your harps will not be heard anymore. ¹⁴I will make you a bare rock, and you will be a place for drying fishing nets. You will not be built again, because I, the Lord, have spoken, says the Lord God.

¹⁵“This is what the Lord God says to Tyre: The people who live along the seacoast will shake with fear when they hear about your defeat. Those of you who are injured and dying will groan. ¹⁶Then all the leaders of the seacoast will get down from their thrones, take off their beautiful needlework clothes, and show how afraid they are. They will sit on the ground and tremble all the time. When they see you, they will be shocked. ¹⁷They will begin singing a funeral song about you and will say to you:

‘Tyre, you famous city, you have been destroyed!

You have lost your sea power!

You and your people

had great power on the seas.

You made everyone around you

afraid of you.

¹⁸Now the people who live by the coast tremble,

now that you have fallen.

The islands of the sea

are afraid because you have been defeated.’

¹⁹“This is what the Lord God says: I will make you an empty city, like cities that have no people living in them. I will bring the deep ocean waters over you, and the Mediterranean Sea will cover you. ²⁰At that time I will send you down to the place of the dead to join those who died long ago. I will make you live with the dead below the earth in places that…