Ezekiel 24

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

²Son of man, put down in writing this very day: The king of Babylon let loose the weight of his attack against Jerusalem on this very day.

³And make a comparison for this uncontrolled people, and say to them, This is what the Lord has said: Put on the cooking-pot, put it on the fire and put water in it:

⁴And get the bits together, the fat tail, every good part, the leg and the top part of it: make it full of the best bones.

⁵Take the best of the flock, put much wood under it: see that its bits are boiling well; let the bones be cooked inside it.

⁶For this is what the Lord has said: A curse is on the town of blood, the cooking-pot which is unclean inside, which has never been made clean! take out its bits; its fate is still to come on it.

⁷For her blood is in her; she has put it on the open rock not draining it on to the earth so that it might be covered with dust;

⁸In order that it might make wrath come up to give punishment, she has put her blood on the open rock, so that it may not be covered.

⁹For this cause the Lord has said: A curse is on the town of blood! and I will make great the burning mass.

¹⁰Put on much wood, heating up the fire, boiling the flesh well, and making the soup thick, and let the bones be burned.

¹¹And I will put her on the coals so that she may be heated and her brass burned, so that what is unclean in her may become soft and her waste be completely taken away.

¹²I have made myself tired to no purpose: still all the waste which is in her has not come out, it has an evil smell.

¹³As for your unclean purpose: because I have been attempting to make you clean, but you have not been made clean from it, you will not be made clean till I have let loose my passion on you in full measure.

¹⁴I the Lord have said the word and I will do it; I will not go back or have mercy, and my purpose will not be changed; in the measure of your ways and of your evil doings you will be judged, says the Lord.

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

¹⁶Son of man, see, I am taking away the desire of your eyes by disease: but let there be no sorrow or weeping or drops running from your eyes.

¹⁷Let there be no sound of sorrow; make no weeping for your dead, put on your head-dress and your shoes on your feet, let not your lips be covered, and do not take the food of those in grief.

¹⁸So in the morning I was teaching the people and in the evening death took my wife; and in the morning I did what I had been ordered to do.

¹⁹And the people said to me, Will you not make clear to us the sense of these things; is it for us you do them?

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

²¹Say to the people of Israel, The Lord has said, See, I will make my holy place unclean, the pride of your strength, the pleasure of your eyes, and the desire of your soul; and your sons and daughters, who did not come with you here, will be put to the sword.

²²And you will do as I have done, not covering your lips or taking the food of those in grief.

²³And your head-dresses will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet: there will be no sorrow or weeping; but you will be wasting away in the punishment of your evil-doing, and you will be looking at one another in wonder.

²⁴And Ezekiel will be a sign to you; everything he has done you will do: when this takes place, you will be certain that I am the Lord.

²⁵And as for you, son of man, your mouth will be shut in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which their hearts are fixed, and their sons and daughters.

²⁶In that day, one who has got away safe will come to you to give you news of it.

²⁷In that day your mouth will be open to him who has got away safe, and you will say words to him and your lips will no longer be shut: so you will be a sign to them and they will be certain that I am the Lord.

Ezekiel 24

¹Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

²"Son of man, write the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon drew close to Jerusalem this same day.

³Utter a parable to the rebellious house, and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord God, "Set on the caldron, set it on, and also pour water into it:

⁴gather its pieces into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.

⁵Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile of wood for the bones under the caldron; make it boil well; yes, let its bones be boiled in its midst."'

⁶"Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece; No lot is fallen on it.

⁷For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it on the bare rock; she didn't pour it on the ground, to cover it with dust.

⁸That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood on the bare rock, that it should not be covered.'

⁹"Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.

¹⁰Heap on the wood, make the fire hot, boil well the flesh, and make thick the broth, and let the bones be burned.

¹¹Then set it empty on its coals, that it may be hot, and its brass may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, that its rust may be consumed.

¹²She has wearied herself with toil; yet her great rust doesn't go forth out of her; her rust doesn't go forth by fire.

¹³In your filthiness is lewdness: because I have cleansed you and you weren't cleansed, you shall not be cleansed from your filthiness any more, until I have caused my wrath toward you to rest.

¹⁴I, the Lord, have spoken it: it shall happen, and I will do it: I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to your ways, and according to your doings, shall they judge you,' says the Lord God."

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

¹⁶"Son of man, behold, I will take away from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke: yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears run down.

¹⁷Sigh, but not aloud, make no mourning for the dead; bind your headdress on you, and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your lips, and do not eat men's bread."

¹⁸So I spoke to the people in the morning; and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

¹⁹The people said to me, "Won't you tell us what these things are to us, that you do so?"

²⁰Then 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 will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword.

²²You shall do as I have done: you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.

²³Your turbans shall be on your heads, and your shoes on your feet: you shall not mourn nor weep; but you shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another.

²⁴Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God."'"

²⁵"You, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their heart, their sons and their daughters,

²⁶that in that day he who escapes shall come to you, to cause you to hear it with your ears?

²⁷In that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped, and you shall speak, and be no more mute: so you will be a sign to them; and they shall know that I am the Lord."