Ezekiel 24

1In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me:

2“Son of man, write down the date, this very date. The king of Babylon has closed in on Jerusalem this very day.

3Tell this rebellious house a parable, and say to them, ‘This is what Lord Yahweh says: Put on the pot, put it on, and pour water into it too.

4Put its pieces of meat into it, all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the choicest bones.

5Take the best of the flock, and heap up the bones under the pot. Bring it to a rolling boil, and let its bones cook in it.

6Therefore this is what Lord Yahweh says: Woe to the city of bloodshed, the pot whose corrosion is in it, whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out its pieces one by one; no lot is to be cast for it.

7For the blood she shed is still in her. She put it on the bare rock; she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust.

8To stir up fury and take vengeance, I have put her blood on the bare rock, so that it will not be covered.

9Therefore this is what Lord Yahweh says: Woe to the city of bloodshed! I myself will make the pile of wood great.

10Pile on the wood, light the fire, cook the meat through, mix in the spices, and let the bones be charred.

11Then set the pot empty on its coals, so that it gets hot and its bronze glows, so that its impurity melts inside it and its corrosion is burned away.

12It has worn out every effort, yet its thick corrosion does not come out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion!

13Your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you, but you did not become clean from your impurity, you will not be clean again until I have spent my fury on you.

14I, Yahweh, have spoken. It is coming, and I will do it. I will not hold back, I will not show pity, and I will not relent. They will judge you according to your ways and your deeds, declares Lord Yahweh.’”

15The word of Yahweh came to me:

16“Son of man, I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes with one blow. But you are not to mourn or weep, and your tears are not to flow.

17Groan in silence; do not hold mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your upper lip, and do not eat the bread of mourners.”

18So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.

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

20I said to them, “The word of Yahweh came to me:

21‘Say to the house of Israel, “This is what Lord Yahweh says: I am about to profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your soul. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.

22Then you will do as I have done. You will not cover your upper lip, and you will not eat the bread of mourners.

23Your turbans will stay on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away in your iniquities and groan to one another.

24Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do everything he has done. When it comes, you will know that I am Lord Yahweh.”’”

25“As for you, son of man, on the day I take from them their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the delight of their eyes and the longing of their souls, their sons and their daughters,

26on that day a survivor will come to you to bring the news to your ears.

27On that day your mouth will be opened to the survivor, and you will speak and no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”