Ezekiel 24

Parable of the Boiling Pot

1Now 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 2laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3Present a 3parable to the 4rebellious house and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord 5God says: “Put on the 6pot, put it on and also pour water into it;478Put in it the pieces of meat, Every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder; Fill it with choice bones.5Take the 9choicest of the flock, And also stack 10wood under 11the pot. Make it boil vigorously. Also boil its bones in it.”

6‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Woe to the 12bloody 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, 13Without making a choice.7For her blood is in her midst; She placed it on the bare rock; She did not 14pour it on the ground To cover it with dust.8So that it may 15cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood on the bare rock, So that it will not be covered.” 9Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “16Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the wood pile great.10Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, 17Cook the meat thoroughly And mix in the spices, And let the bones be burned up.11Then 18set it empty on its burning coals So that it may be hot And its bronze may 19glow, And its 20filthiness may be melted in it, Its rust eliminated.12She has 21wearied Me with work, Yet her great rust has not gone from her; Let her rust be in the fire!13In your filthiness is outrageous sin. Because I would have cleansed you, Yet you are 22not clean, You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again Until I have 2324expended My wrath on you. 14I, the Lord, have spoken; it is 25coming and I will act. I will not overlook, I will not 26pity, and I will not be sorry; 27according to your ways and according to your deeds 28I will judge you,” declares the Lord God.’”

Death of Ezekiel’s Wife Is a Sign

15And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 16“Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you 29what is precious to your eyes with a 30fatal blow; but you shall not 31mourn and you shall not weep, and your 32tears shall not come. 17Groan silently; do 33no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet, and do not 34cover your mustache, and 35do not eat the 36bread of other people.” 18So 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. 19And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are doing?” 20Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21‘Speak to the house of Israel, “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, 37that which is precious in your eyes and the longing of your soul; and your 38sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. 22And you will do just as I have done; you will not 39cover your mustache, and you will not eat the 40bread of other people. 23Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You 41will not mourn and you will not weep; but 42you will rot away in your guilty deeds, and you will groan 43to one another. 24So Ezekiel will be a 44sign 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 45stronghold, the joy of their splendor, that which is precious in their eyes and their 46heart’s longing, their sons and their daughters, 26that on that day the one who 47escapes will come to you with information for your ears? 27On that day your 48mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and no longer be silenced. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”