Ezekiel 24
Contemporary English Version
A Cooking Pot
24 Nine years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the Lord spoke to me on the tenth day of the tenth month.[a] He said:
2 (A) Ezekiel, son of man, write down today's date, because the king of Babylonia has just begun attacking the city of Jerusalem. 3 Then tell my rebellious people:
“Pour water in a cooking pot
and set it over a fire.
* 4 Throw[b] in the legs and shoulders
of your finest sheep
and put in the juicy bones.
5 Pile wood[c] underneath the pot,
and let the meat and bones
boil until they are done.”
6 These words mean that Jerusalem is doomed! The city is filled with murderers and is like an old, rusty pot. The meat is taken out piece by piece, and no one cares what happens to it.[d] 7 The people of Jerusalem murdered innocent people in the city and didn't even try to cover up the blood that flowed out on the hard ground. 8 But I have seen that blood, and it cries out for me to take revenge.
9 I, the Lord God, will punish that city of violence! I will make a huge pile of firewood, 10 so bring more wood and light it. Cook the meat and boil away the broth[e] to let the bones scorch. 11 Then set the empty pot over the hot coals until it is red-hot. That will clean the pot and burn off the rust. 12 I've tried everything else. Now the rust must be burned away.[f]
13 Jerusalem is so full of sin and evil that I can't get it clean, even though I have tried. It will stay filthy until I let loose my fierce anger against it. 14 That time will certainly come! And when it does, I won't show the people of Jerusalem any pity or change my mind. They must be punished for the evil they have done. I, the Lord God, have spoken.
Ezekiel's Wife Dies
15 The Lord said, 16 “Ezekiel, son of man, I will suddenly take the life of the person you love most. But I don't want you to complain or cry. 17 Mourn in silence and don't show that you are grieving. Don't remove your turban or take off your sandals; don't cover your face to show your sorrow, or eat the food that mourners eat.”[g]
18 One morning, I was talking with the people as usual, and by sunset my wife was dead. The next day I did what the Lord had told me, 19 and when people saw me, they asked, “Why aren't you mourning for your wife?”
20 I answered:
The Lord God says 21 he is ready to destroy the temple in which you take such pride and which makes you feel so safe. Your children who now live in Jerusalem will be killed. 22 Then you will do the same things I have done. You will leave your face uncovered and refuse to eat the food that mourners usually eat. 23 You won't take off your turbans and your sandals.[h] You won't cry or mourn, but all day long you will go around groaning because of your sins.
24 I am a warning sign—everything I have done, you will also do. And then you will know the Lord God has made these things happen.
25 The Lord said, “Ezekiel, I will soon destroy the temple that makes everyone feel proud and safe, and I will take away their children as well. 26 On that same day, someone will escape from the city and come to tell you what has happened. 27 Then you will be able to speak again,[i] and the two of you will talk. You will be a warning sign to the people, and they will know that I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- 24.1 Nine years … tenth month: Probably January of 588 b.c.
- 24.4 Throw: When an asterisk (*) occurs before a verse number, it indicates that this verse and the following have been combined.
- 24.5 Pile wood: Or “Stack the bones.”
- 24.6 and no one cares what happens to it: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 24.10 boil away the broth: One ancient translation; Hebrew “mix the spices.”
- 24.12 away: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 12.
- 24.17 Don't remove your turban … take off your sandals … cover your face … eat the food that mourners eat: The usual way people mourned was to remove anything worn on the head, to go barefoot, to cover their faces, and to eat special food to show they were grieving.
- 24.22,23 You will leave your face uncovered … refuse to eat the food … won't take off your turbans and your sandals: See the note at 24.17.
- 24.27 you will be able to speak again: See 3.25-27; 33.21,22.
Ezekiel 24
Tree of Life Version
Parable of a Rusted Pot
24 The word of Adonai came to me in the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year saying: 2 “Son of man, record this date, this exact day—this very day the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem. 3 Utter a parable concerning the rebellious house. Say to them, thus says Adonai Elohim:
‘Put on the pot, put it on
and then pour water into it.
4 Gather the pieces into it,
every good piece—thigh and shoulder.
Fill it with the choice bones.
5 Take the choicest of the flock
and pile the bones under it;
bring it to a rolling boil,
so that its bones also seethe in it.’”
6 Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim:
“Oy to the city of bloodshed,
to the pot whose corrosion is in it,
whose rust will not come off it!
Draw it out piece by piece
—no lot would fall for it.
7 For her bloodshed is in her midst.
She put it on the bare rock;
she did not pour it upon the ground
to cover it with dust.
8 So it stirs up wrath for taking vengeance.
I have put her blood on the bare rock,
that it may not be covered.”
9 Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim:
‘Oy to the city of bloodshed!
I will also make the pile great,
10 heaping on the wood,
kindling the fire,
boiling the meat well,
and mixing in spices.
But let the bones be burned!
11 I will set it empty upon the coals
until it gets hot and its copper scorches,
so its impurity will be melted,
its corrosion consumed.
12 It has wearied toil,
yet its thick rust will not come out of it.
Into the fire with its corrosion!
13 Because of your filthy obscenity,
though I tried to purify you
yet you were not made pure,
you will never be cleansed from your filth
until I have satisfied My fury on you.
14 I, Adonai, have spoken—it is coming.
I will do it, I will not let go,
not pity, not relent
—according to your ways
and according to your deeds
they will judge you.’”
It is a declaration of Adonai.
Ezekiel’s Wife Dies
15 The word of Adonai came to me saying: 16 “Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a single blow. But do not lament, do not weep or allow any tears to flow. 17 Sigh silently, do not observe mourning for the dead, keep your turban fastened, and keep your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your upper lip or eat the bread of mourners.”
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning and my wife died in the evening. In the morning I did just as I was commanded. 19 The people said to me, “Won’t you tell us what these things you are doing mean to us?”
20 Then I said to them, “The word of Adonai came to me saying, 21 speak to the house of Israel, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Behold, I will profane My Sanctuary, the pride of your might, the desire of your eyes and the longing of your soul. Your sons and your daughters that you have left behind will fall by the sword. 22 You will do just as I have done: you will not cover your upper lips or eat the bread of mourners. 23 Your turbans will remain on your heads and your shoes on your feet—you will not lament or weep. But you will pine away in your iniquities and groan to each other. 24 Ezekiel will be a sign for you; just as he has done, you will do. When this comes, you will know that I am Adonai.’
25 “You, son of man, on the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, the longing of their soul, as well as their sons and their daughters— 26 on that day a fugitive will come to you to tell you the news. 27 On that day your mouth will be opened to him who escaped. You will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign for them, and they will know that I am Adonai.”
Copyright © 2004 by World Bible Translation Center
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Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.