Ezekiel 24–26

The Boiling Pot

²⁴In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:^{* 2}Mortal, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.^{* 3}And utter an allegory to the rebellious house and say to them: Thus says the Lord God:

Set on the pot; set it on;

pour in water also;^*

⁴put in it the pieces,

all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder;

fill it with choice cuts.

⁵Take the choicest one of the flock;

pile the logs^c under it;

boil its pieces;^d

seethe^e also its bones in it.

⁶Therefore thus says the Lord God:

Woe to the bloody city,

the pot whose crud is in it,

whose crud has not gone out of it!

Empty it piece by piece,

making no choice at all.^f*

⁷For the blood she shed is inside it;

she placed it on a bare rock;

she did not pour it out on the ground,

to cover it with earth.^*

⁸To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance,

I have placed the blood she shed

on a bare rock,

so that it may not be covered.

⁹Therefore thus says the Lord God:

Woe to the bloody city!

I will even make the pile great.^*

¹⁰Heap up the logs; kindle the fire;

boil the meat well; boil down the broth;^g

let the bones be burned.

¹¹Stand it empty upon the coals,

so that it may become hot, its copper glow,

its filth melt in it, its crud be consumed.

¹²In vain I have wearied myself;^h

its thick crud does not depart.

To the fire with its crud!

¹³Yet when I cleansed you in your filthy lewdness,

you did not become clean from your filth;

you shall not again be cleansed

until I have satisfied my fury upon you.^*

¹⁴I the Lord have spoken; the time is coming; I will act. I will not refrain; I will not spare; I will not relent. According to your ways and your doings I will judge you, says the Lord God.^*

Ezekiel’s Bereavement

¹⁵The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁶Mortal, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes, yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down.^{* 17}Groan quietly; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your upper lip or eat the bread of mourners.^{i* 18}So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.

¹⁹Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting this way?” ²⁰Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: ²¹Say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and your heart’s desire, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.^{* 22}And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your upper lip or eat the bread of mourners.^{j 23}Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and groan to one another.^{* 24}Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; you shall do just as he has done. When this comes, then you shall know that I am the Lord God.”^*

²⁵And you, mortal, on the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their heart’s affection, and also^k their sons and their daughters,^{* 26}on that day, one who has escaped will come to you to report to you the news. ²⁷On that day your mouth shall be opened to the one who has escaped, and you shall speak and no longer be silent. So you shall be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.^*

Proclamation against Ammon

²⁵The word of the Lord came to me: ²Mortal, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.^{* 3}Say to the Ammonites: Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God: Because you said, “Aha!” over my sanctuary when it was profaned and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate and over the house of Judah when it went into exile,^{* 4}therefore I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession. They shall set their encampments among you and pitch their tents in your midst; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. ⁵I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.^{* 6}For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within you against the land of Israel,^{* 7}therefore I have stretched out my hand against you and will hand you over as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.^*

Proclamation against Moab

⁸Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab^l said, “The house of Judah is like all the other nations,” ⁹therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the towns^m on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. ¹⁰I will give it along with Ammon to the people of the East as a possession. Thus Ammon shall be remembered no more among the nations, ¹¹and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

Proclamation against Edom

¹²Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance upon them,^{* 13}therefore thus says the Lord God: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it humans and animals, and I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword.^{* 14}I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall act in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, says the Lord God.^*

Proclamation against Philistia

¹⁵Thus says the Lord God: Because with unending hostilities the Philistines acted in vengeance and with malice of heart took revenge in destruction,^{* 16}therefore thus says the Lord God: I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, cut off the Cherethites, and destroy the rest of the seacoast.^{* 17}I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful punishments. Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance on them.^*

Proclamation against Tyre

²⁶In the twelfth year,ⁿ in the eleventh^o month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ²Mortal, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem,

“Aha, broken is the gateway of the peoples;

it has swung open to me;

I shall be replenished,

now that it is wasted,”^*

³therefore, thus says the Lord God:

See, I am against you, O Tyre!

I will hurl many nations against you,

as the sea hurls its waves.^*

⁴They shall destroy the walls of Tyre

and break down its towers.

I will scrape its soil from it

and make it a bare rock.^*

⁵It shall become, in the midst of the sea,

a place for spreading nets.

I have spoken, says the Lord God.

It shall become plunder for the nations,^*

⁶and its daughter towns inland

shall be killed by the sword.

Then they shall know that I am the Lord.^*

⁷For thus says the Lord God: I will bring against Tyre from the north King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, king of kings, together with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a great and powerful army.^*

⁸Your daughter towns inland

he shall put to the sword.

He shall set up a siege wall against you,

cast up a ramp against you,

and raise a roof of shields against you.^*

⁹He shall direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls

and break down your towers with his axes.^*

¹⁰His horses shall be so many

that their dust shall cover you.

At the noise of cavalry, wheels, and chariots

your very walls shall shake

when he enters your gates

like those entering a breached city.^*

¹¹With the hoofs of his horses

he shall trample all your streets.

He shall put your people to the sword,

and your strong pillars shall fall to the ground.^*

¹²They will take your riches

and plunder your merchandise;

they shall break down your walls

and destroy your fine houses.

Your stones and timber and soil

they shall cast into the water.

¹³I will silence the music of your songs;

the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more.^*

¹⁴I will make you a bare rock;

you shall be a place for spreading nets.

You shall never again be rebuilt,

for I the Lord have spoken,

says the Lord God.

¹⁵Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter goes on within you?^{* 16}Then all the princes of the sea shall step down from their thrones; they shall remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They shall clothe themselves with trembling and shall sit on the ground; they shall tremble every moment and be appalled at you.^{* 17}And they shall raise a lamentation over you and say to you:

“How you have vanished^p from the seas,

O city renowned,

once mighty on the sea,

you and your inhabitants,^q

who imposed your^r terror

on all the mainland!^s*

¹⁸Now the coastlands tremble

on the day of your fall;

the coastlands by the sea

are dismayed at your passing.”^*

¹⁹For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you, ²⁰then I will thrust you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of long ago, and I will make you live in the world below, among primeval ruins, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you will not be inhabited or have a place^t in the land of the living.^{* 21}I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more; though sought for, you will never be found again, says the Lord God.^*