Ezekiel 24 (New American Standard)

Parable of the Boiling Pot

1 And 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 ^ahas ¹laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3 "Speak a ²parable to the ³rebellious house and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord ^bGOD, "Put on the ⁴pot, put it on and also pour water in it; 4 ^c5Put in it the pieces, Every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder ; Fill it with choice bones. 5 "Take the ⁶choicest of the flock, And also pile ^dwood under ^ethe pot. Make it boil vigorously. Also seethe its bones in it." 6 'Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe to the ⁷bloody 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, ^fWithout making a choice. 7 "For her blood is in her midst ; She placed it on the bare rock ; She did not ⁸pour it on the ground To cover it with dust. 8 "That it may ⁹cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood on the bare rock, That it may not be covered." 9 'Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, "¹⁰Woe to the bloody city ! I also will make the pile great. 10 "Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, ^gBoil the flesh well And mix in the spices, And let the bones be burned. 11 "Then ¹¹set it empty on its coals So that it may be hot And its bronze may ^hglow And its ¹²filthiness may be melted in it, Its rust consumed. 12 "She has ¹³wearied Me with toil, Yet her great rust has not gone from her; Let her rust be in the fire ! 13 "In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I would have cleansed you, Yet you are ¹⁴not clean, You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again Until I have ⁱ¹⁵spent My wrath on you. 14 "I, the LORD, have spoken ; it is ¹⁶coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not ¹⁷pity and I will not be sorry ; ¹⁸according to your ways and according to your deeds ^jI will judge you," declares the Lord GOD.' "

Death of Ezekiel's Wife Is a Sign

15 And the word of the LORD came to me saying, 16 "Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the ¹⁹desire of your eyes with a ²⁰blow ; but you shall not ²¹mourn and you shall not weep, and your ²²tears shall not come. 17 "Groan silently ; make ²³no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your mustache and ²⁴do not eat the bread of men." 18 So 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. 19 The people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?" 20 Then 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 am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the ²⁵desire of your eyes and the delight of your soul ; and your ²⁶sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. 22 'You will do as I have done ; you will not cover your mustache and you will not eat the bread of men. 23 'Your turbans will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You ²⁷will not mourn and you will not weep, but ²⁸you will rot away in your iniquities and you will groan ^kto one another. 24 'Thus Ezekiel will be a ²⁹sign 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 ³⁰stronghold, the joy of their ^lpride, the desire of their eyes and ^mtheir heart's delight, their sons and their daughters, 26 that on that day he who ³¹escapes will come to you with information for your ears ? 27 'On that day your ³²mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and be mute no longer. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.' "