< Ezekiel 24 >
1 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this selfsame day; the king of Babylon drew close to Jerusalem this selfsame day.
3 And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, Thus says the lord Jehovah: Set on the caldron. Set it on, and also pour water into it.
4 Gather the pieces of it into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.
5 Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile of wood for the bones under the caldron. Make it boil well, yea, let the bones of it be boiled in the midst of it.
6 Therefore thus says the lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose rust is therein, and whose rust has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece. No lot has fallen upon it.
7 For her blood is in the midst of her. She set it upon the bare rock. She did not pour it upon the ground to cover it with dust.
8 That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered.
9 Therefore thus says the lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.
10 Heap on the wood; make the fire hot. Boil the flesh well, and make the broth thick. And let the bones be burned.
11 Then set it empty upon the coals of it, that it may be hot, and the brass of it may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.
12 She has wearied herself with toil, yet her great scum does not go forth out of her, her scum by fire.
13 In thy filthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed thee and thou were not cleansed, thou shall not be cleansed from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my wrath toward thee to rest.
14 I, Jehovah, have spoken it. It shall come to pass, and I will do it. I will not go back. I will neither spare, nor will I relent. According to thy ways, and according to thy doings, they shall judge thee, says the lord Jehovah.
15 Also the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
16 Son of man, behold, I take the desire of thine eyes away from thee with a stroke. Yet thou shall neither mourn nor weep. Neither shall thy tears run down.
17 Sigh, but not aloud. Make no mourning for the dead. Bind thy headdress upon thee, and put thy shoes upon thy feet. And do not cover thy lips, and do not eat the bread of men.
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And I did in the morning as I was commanded.
19 And the people said to me, Will thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou do so?
20 Then I said to them, The word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
21 Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul has compassion. And your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword.
22 And ye shall do as I have done. Ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
23 And your coverings shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet. Ye shall not mourn nor weep, but ye shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another.
24 Thus Ezekiel shall be to you a sign, according to all that he has done ye shall do. When this comes, then ye shall know that I am the lord Jehovah.
25 And thou, 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 upon which they set their heart-their sons and their daughters-
26 that in that day he who escapes shall come to thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?
27 In that day thy mouth shall be opened to him who is escaped, and thou shall speak, and no more be mute. So thou shall be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
