Ezekiel 24:6-21

6“Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits Jerusalem, the city of murderers! She is a cooking pot whose corruption can’t be cleaned out. Take the meat out in random order, for no piece is better than another.

7For the blood of her murders is splashed on the rocks. It isn’t even spilled on the ground, where the dust could cover it!

8So I will splash her blood on a rock for all to see, an expression of my anger and vengeance against her.

9“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits Jerusalem, the city of murderers! I myself will pile up the fuel beneath her.

10Yes, heap on the wood! Let the fire roar to make the pot boil. Cook the meat with many spices, and afterward burn the bones.

11Now set the empty pot on the coals. Heat it red hot! Burn away the filth and corruption.

12But it’s hopeless; the corruption can’t be cleaned out. So throw it into the fire.

13Your impurity is your lewdness and the corruption of your idolatry. I tried to cleanse you, but you refused. So now you will remain in your filth until my fury against you has been satisfied.

14“I, the Lord, have spoken! The time has come, and I won’t hold back. I will not change my mind, and I will have no pity on you. You will be judged on the basis of all your wicked actions, says the Sovereign Lord.”

15Then this message came to me from the Lord:

16“Son of man, with one blow I will take away your dearest treasure. Yet you must not show any sorrow at her death. Do not weep; let there be no tears.

17Groan silently, but let there be no wailing at her grave. Do not uncover your head or take off your sandals. Do not perform the usual rituals of mourning or accept any food brought to you by consoling friends.”

18So I proclaimed this to the people the next morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did everything I had been told to do.

19Then the people asked, “What does all this mean? What are you trying to tell us?”

20So I said to them, “A message came to me from the Lord,

21and I was told to give this message to the people of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will defile my Temple, the source of your security and pride, the place your heart delights in. Your sons and daughters whom you left behind in Judah will be slaughtered by the sword.