Ezekiel 24
1 On the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year, a message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2 “Son of man, write down today's date, because this is the day that the king of Babylon started his siege of Jerusalem.
Son of man, write thee the name of the day, of this selfsame day: on this selfsame day the king of Babylon draws near to Jerusalem.
3 Then repeat the following parable to these rebellious people. Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: Get a pot and set it on the fire. Pour in some water.
And propose a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Set on the pot, set [it] on, and also pour water into it.
4 Fill it with some good cuts of meat from the thigh and the shoulder. Put in the best bones.
Gather the pieces thereof into it, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder; fill [it] with the choice bones:
5 Choose the best animal from the flock. Pile up the fuel underneath it. Get it boiling and cook the bones in it.
take the choice of the flock; and also [put] a pile of wood under it, for the bones; make it boil well, and let the bones of it seethe therein.
6 So this is what the Lord God says: Disaster is coming to the city of that has shed so much blood! It is symbolized by the rusted pot, whose rust can't be cleaned off. Take out the meat bit by bit as it comes—don't choose which piece.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! Bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it:
7 For the blood she shed is still inside the city. She shed it openly on bare rock—she didn't even spill it on the ground and cover it up with dirt.
for her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust.
8 In my anger and to punish, I have spilled her blood openly on bare rock, so it wouldn't be covered up.
That it might cause fury to come up to execute vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered.
9 So this is what the Lord God says: Disaster is coming to the city of that has shed so much blood. I will also pile up a large heap of firewood.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.
10 Put on plenty of wood and light the fire. Make sure the meat is well cooked and add spices. Burn the bones.
Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, boil thoroughly the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.
11 Then put the empty pot back on the burning coals until it's hot and the copper metal glows. This will melt the dirt inside it and get rid of the rust.
Then set it empty upon its coals, that it may be hot, and the brass of it may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, [and] that its rust may be consumed.
12 So far it's been impossible to clean it —even fire couldn't burn out all its rust.
She hath exhausted [her] labours, yet her great rust goeth not forth out of her: let her rust be in the fire.
13 Because of your immorality you had made yourself unclean and I tried to clean you, but you refused to let me clean away your filth. So now you won't be pure again until I've finished being angry with you.
In thy filthiness is lewdness, for I have purged thee, and thou art not pure. Thou shalt no more be purged from thy filthiness, till I have satisfied my fury upon thee.
14 I, the Lord, have spoken. The time is soon coming when I will do what I say. I won't change my mind or show pity, I won't stop. I will judge you by your attitude and actions, declares the Lord God.”
I Jehovah have spoken [it]: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, nor will I repent. According to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.
15 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
16 “Son of man, look, I'm about to take away the one you love the most. She will die. But you must not mourn or weep. Don't cry any tears.
Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke; yet thou shalt not mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
17 Mourn in silence. Don't have any rituals for the dead. Dress normally—have your turban on and put your sandals on your feet. Don't veil your face and don't eat the bread used by mourners.”
Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind thy turban upon thee, and put thy sandals upon thy feet, and cover not the beard, and eat not the bread of men.
18 I talked to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. The next morning I did as I'd been told.
— And I spoke unto the people in the morning; and at even my wife died. And I did in the morning as I was commanded.
19 The people asked me, “What are you doing? Aren't you going to explain to us what this means?”
And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, which thou doest?
20 So I told them, “A message from the Lord came to me, saying:
And I said to them, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
21 Tell the people of Israel that this is what the Lord God says: I am about to make my sanctuary unclean, this place you're so proud of that you think gives you power, the place you love so much, the place that makes you happy. Your sons and daughters that you left behind will be killed by the sword.
Say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and your soul's longing; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword.
22 Then you'll do what I did. You won't veil your face or eat the bread used by mourners.
And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover the beard, neither eat the bread of men;
23 You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You won't mourn or weep, but you will die inside because of your sins, and you will groan to one another.
and your turbans shall be upon your heads, and your sandals upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall waste away in your iniquities and moan one toward another.
24 In this way Ezekiel will be a sign for you; you will do everything that he did. When this happens, then you will know that I am the Lord God.
Thus Ezekiel shall be unto you a sign; according to all that he hath done shall ye do: when it cometh, then ye shall know that I [am] the Lord Jehovah.
25 You, son of man, should know that when I destroy their fortress that is their pride and joy, the place they looked to for comfort and happiness —and their sons and daughters too—
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 whereunto they lift up their soul, their sons and their daughters,
26 when that happens someone who managed to get away will come and give you the news.
that in that day he that escapeth shall come unto thee, to cause [thine] ears to hear [it]?
27 On that day you will be able to speak; you won't be mute any longer. This is how you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”
In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him that is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb. So shalt thou be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I [am] Jehovah.
