Ezekiel 24

1 Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of Yhwh came unto me, saying,

On the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year, a message from the Lord came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.

“Son of man, write down today's date, because this is the day that the king of Babylon started his siege of Jerusalem.

3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Yhwh; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:

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.

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

Fill it with some good cuts of meat from the thigh and the shoulder. Put in the best bones.

5 Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein.

Choose the best animal from the flock. Pile up the fuel underneath it. Get it boiling and cook the bones in it.

6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord Yhwh; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.

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.

7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;

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.

8 That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.

In my anger and to punish, I have spilled her blood openly on bare rock, so it wouldn't be covered up.

9 Therefore thus saith the Lord Yhwh; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.

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.

10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.

Put on plenty of wood and light the fire. Make sure the meat is well cooked and add spices. Burn the bones.

11 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.

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.

12 She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.

So far it's been impossible to clean it —even fire couldn't burn out all its rust.

13 In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.

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.

14 I Yhwh have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord Yhwh.

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.”

15 Also the word of Yhwh came unto me, saying,

A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.

“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.

17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.

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.”

18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

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.

19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?

The people asked me, “What are you doing? Aren't you going to explain to us what this means?”

20 Then I answered them, The word of Yhwh came unto me, saying,

So I told them, “A message from the Lord came to me, saying:

21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Yhwh; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.

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.

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

Then you'll do what I did. You won't veil your face or eat the bread used by mourners.

23 And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.

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.

24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord Yhwh.

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.

25 Also, 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 whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,

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—

26 That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?

when that happens someone who managed to get away will come and give you the news.

27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am Yhwh.

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.”