Ezekiel 24:3–13

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.