Ezekiel 24

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

²Son of man , write down the name of this day , this very day . The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day .

³And utter a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Set on the pot , set it on ; pour in water also ;

⁴put in it the pieces of meat , all the good pieces , the thigh and the shoulder ; fill it with choice bones .

⁵Take the choicest one of the flock ; pile the logs under it; boil it well ; seethe also its bones in it.

⁶Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city , to the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece , without making any choice .

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

⁸To rouse my wrath , to take vengeance , I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered .

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

¹⁰Heap on the logs , kindle the fire , boil the meat well , mix in the spices , and let the bones be burned up .

¹¹Then set it empty upon the coals , that it may become hot , and its copper may burn , that its uncleanness may be melted in it , its corrosion consumed .

¹²She has wearied herself with toil ; its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion !

¹³On account of your unclean lewdness , because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness , you shall not be cleansed anymore till I have satisfied my fury upon you.

¹⁴I am the Lord. I have spoken ; it shall come to pass ; I will do it. I will not go back ; I will not spare ; I will not relent ; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged , declares the Lord God.

¹⁵The word of the Lord came to me:

¹⁶Son of man , behold , I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke ; yet you shall not mourn or weep , nor shall your tears run down .

¹⁷Sigh , but not aloud ; make no mourning for the dead . Bind on your turban , and put your shoes on your feet ; do not cover your lips , nor eat the bread of men .

¹⁸So I spoke to the people in the morning , and at evening my wife died . And on the next 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 acting thus?

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

²¹Say to the house of Israel , Thus says the Lord God: Behold , I will profane my sanctuary , the pride of your power , the delight of your eyes , and the yearning of your soul , and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword .

²²And you 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 or weep , but you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another .

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

²⁵As for you, son of man , surely on the day when I take from them their stronghold , their joy and glory , the delight of their eyes and their soul’s desire , and also their sons and daughters ,

²⁶on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news .

²⁷On that day your mouth will be opened to the fugitive , and you shall speak and be no longer mute . So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.