Chapter 24

Parable of the Boiling Pot

1 And the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying,

2 “Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon 1has alaid siege to Jerusalem this very day.

3 “Speak a aparable to the brebellious house and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord 1God,

“Put on the cpot, put it on and also pour water in it;

4 1aPut in it the pieces,

Every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder;

Fill it with choice bones.

5 “Take the achoicest of the flock,

And also pile 1wood under 2the pot.

Make it boil vigorously.

Also seethe its bones in it.”

6 ‘Therefore, thus says the Lord God,

“Woe to the abloody city,

To the pot in which there is rust

And whose rust has not gone out of it!

Take out of it piece after piece,

1Without making a choice.

7 “For her blood is in her midst;

She placed it on the bare rock;

She did not apour it on the ground

To cover it with dust.

8 “That it may acause wrath to come up to take vengeance,

I have put her blood on the bare rock,

That it may not be covered.”

9 ‘Therefore, thus says the Lord God,

“aWoe to the bloody city!

I also will make the pile great.

10 “Heap on the wood, kindle the fire,

1Boil the flesh well

And mix in the spices,

And let the bones be burned.

11 “Then aset it empty on its coals

So that it may be hot

And its bronze may 1glow

And its bfilthiness may be melted in it,

Its rust consumed.

12 “She has awearied Me with toil,

Yet her great rust has not gone from her;

Let her rust be in the fire!

13 “In your filthiness is lewdness.

Because I would have cleansed you,

Yet you are anot clean,

You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again

Until I have 1bspent My wrath on you.

14 “I, the Lord, have spoken; it is acoming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not bpity and I will not be sorry; caccording to your ways and according to your deeds 1I will judge you,” declares the Lord God.’ ”

Death of Ezekiel’s Wife Is a Sign

15 And the word of the Lord came to me saying,

16 “Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the adesire of your eyes with a bblow; but you shall not cmourn and you shall not weep, and your dtears shall not come.

17 “Groan silently; make ano mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your mustache and bdo not eat the bread of men.”

18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded.

19 The people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?”

20 Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me saying,

21 ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the adesire of your eyes and the delight of your soul; and your bsons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.

22 ‘You will do as I have done; you will not cover your mustache and you will not eat the bread of men.

23 ‘Your turbans will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You awill not mourn and you will not weep, but byou will rot away in your iniquities and you will groan 1to one another.

24 ‘Thus Ezekiel will be a asign to you; according to all that he has done you will do; when it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’ ”

25 ‘As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their astronghold, the joy of their 1pride, the desire of their eyes and 2their heart’s delight, their sons and their daughters,

26 that on that day he who aescapes will come to you with information for your ears?

27 ‘On that day your amouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and be mute no longer. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”