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Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized
“Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it.
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Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the people of Israel.
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When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. For I will pursue them with drawn sword.
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Outside is the sword; inside are plague and famine. Those in the country will die by the sword; those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.
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“‘Prepare chains! For the land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of violence.
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Judgment on the Idolaters
Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, “Bring near those who are appointed to execute judgment on the city, each with a weapon in his hand.”
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and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”
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As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion.
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Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city.
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He answered me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see.’
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The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.
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The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city.
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They say, ‘Haven’t our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot, and we are the meat in it.’
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You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead.
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“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: The bodies you have thrown there are the meat and this city is the pot, but I will drive you out of it.
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I will drive you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners and inflict punishment on you.
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This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat in it; I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel.
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The glory of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it.
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he broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders.
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“Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city.
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“Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her detestable practices
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and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols,
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Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, you infamous city, full of turmoil.
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As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you.
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“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot now encrusted, whose deposit will not go away! Take the meat out piece by piece in whatever order it comes.
