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24 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this selfsame day: the king of Babylon [a]drew close unto Jerusalem this selfsame day. And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Set on the caldron, set it on, and also pour water into it: gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile of wood for the bones under [b]the caldron; make it boil well; yea, let the bones thereof be boiled in the midst of it.

Wherefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose [c]rust is therein, and whose [d]rust is not gone out of it! take out of it piece after piece; No lot is fallen upon it. 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. 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. Therefore thus saith 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 well the flesh, and make thick the broth, and let the bones be burned. 11 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that it may be hot, and the brass thereof may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the rust of it may be consumed. 12 She hath wearied [e]herself with toil; yet her great rust goeth not forth out of her; her rust [f]goeth not forth by fire. 13 [g]In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have cleansed thee and thou wast not cleansed, thou shalt 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, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.

15 Also the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet thou shalt neither mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 17 Sigh, [h]but not aloud, make no mourning for the dead; bind thy headtire upon thee, and put thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. 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.

19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? 20 Then I said unto them, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and [i]that which your soul pitieth; 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 tires 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 shall Ezekiel be unto you a sign; according to all that he hath done shall ye do: when this cometh, then shall ye 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 [j]strength, the joy of their [k]glory, the desire of their eyes, and [l]that whereupon they set their heart, their sons and their daughters, 26 that in that day he that escapeth shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? 27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened [m]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.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 24:2 Hebrew leaned upon.
  2. Ezekiel 24:5 Hebrew it.
  3. Ezekiel 24:6 Or, scum
  4. Ezekiel 24:6 Or, scum
  5. Ezekiel 24:12 Or, me
  6. Ezekiel 24:12 Or, is in the fire
  7. Ezekiel 24:13 Or, For thy filthy lewdness
  8. Ezekiel 24:17 Hebrew be silent.
  9. Ezekiel 24:21 Hebrew the pity of your soul.
  10. Ezekiel 24:25 Or, stronghold
  11. Ezekiel 24:25 Or, beauty
  12. Ezekiel 24:25 Hebrew the lifting up of their soul.
  13. Ezekiel 24:27 Or, together with

The Boiling Pot and the Death of Ezekiel’s Wife

24 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, saying,[b] “Son of man,[c] write for yourself the name of the day, this very day.[d] The king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem on exactly this day! And deliver a proverb[e] to the rebellious house,[f] and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Place the pot! Place it and also pour water into it. Gather its pieces to it, every good piece, thigh and shoulder, fill it with choice bones; take the choicest of the flock, and also pile the bones[g] under it; boil it vigorously;[h] indeed,[i] its bones boiled in the midst of it.”’”

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Woe to the city of bloodguilt! A pot that has its rust in it; its rust did not go out from it.[j] Bring it out piece by piece;[k] one is as good as another.[l] For her blood was in the midst of her; she put it on a bare rock;[m] she did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust.[n] To stir up rage, to avenge myself through vengeance, I placed its blood on the barrenness of a rock, so that it may not be covered.”[o]

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Woe to the city of bloodguilt! I, even I, will make the pile of wood great! 10 Pile up the logs; kindle the fire; finish cooking the meat, and mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned.[p] 11 And make it stand[q] empty upon its burning coals so that it may become hot, and its copper may become molten and be melted in the midst of it,[r] so that its uncleanness and its rust be consumed. 12 Through effort she has caused weariness; its thick rust[s] went not out of it. Its rust! Into the fire with its rust! 13 In your uncleanness is obscene conduct, because I cleansed you, but you were not clean from your uncleanness; you will not be clean again until I fully vent my rage[t] on you. 14 I, Yahweh, I have spoken. It is coming, and I did it; I will not disregard, and I will not take pity, and I will not reconsider. According to your ways and according to your deeds they will judge you!”[u] declares[v] the Lord Yahweh.

15 And the word of Yahweh came[w] to me, saying,[x] 16 “Son of man,[y] look! I am taking from you what is pleasing to your eyes with a plague,[z] but you shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not run down. 17 Sigh in silence for the dead; you shall not make a mourning ceremony. Bind your turban on you, and you must put your sandals on your feet. You must not cover your upper lip,[aa] and the bread of mourners[ab] you shall not eat.” 18 And I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening, and I did in the morning just as[ac] I was commanded. 19 And the people said to me, “Will you not make known to us what these things that you are doing mean for us?” 20 And I said to them that the word of Yahweh came[ad] to me, saying,[ae] 21 “Say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I will be profaning my sanctuary, the pride of your strength and the delight of your eyes and the object of your own[af] affection; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind will fall by the sword, 22 and you shall do just as[ag] I did: You shall not cover your upper lip,[ah] and you shall not eat the bread of mourners.[ai] 23 And your turban must be on your heads, and your sandals must be on your feet. You shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, but you shall waste away because of your iniquities, and you shall groan to one another.[aj] 24 And Ezekiel will be to you as a sign; everything that he did[ak] you shall do; and when it comes you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.

25 “And you, son of man,[al] will it not be that on the day when I take from them[am] their stronghold, the joy of their glory, the delight of their eyes, and the longing of their inner self,[an] their sons and daughters— 26 on that day a survivor will come to you with the news.[ao] 27 On that day your mouth shall be opened at the arrival of the fugitive,[ap] and you shall speak, and you shall not be silent any longer, and you shall be to them as a sign, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 24:1 Literally “was”
  2. Ezekiel 24:1 Literally “to say”
  3. Ezekiel 24:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  4. Ezekiel 24:2 Literally “exactly the day the this”
  5. Ezekiel 24:3 Literally “quote a proverb”; “proverb a proverb”
  6. Ezekiel 24:3 Literally “the house of rebellion”
  7. Ezekiel 24:5 Or possibly “logs”; the difference is one letter in Hebrew
  8. Ezekiel 24:5 Literally “boil its boiling”
  9. Ezekiel 24:5 Or “also”
  10. Ezekiel 24:6 Literally “rust her not went forth from her”
  11. Ezekiel 24:6 Literally “according to its pieces”
  12. Ezekiel 24:6 Literally “no lot has fallen on it”
  13. Ezekiel 24:7 Literally “on barrenness of a rock she put it”
  14. Ezekiel 24:7 Or “earth” or “dirt”
  15. Ezekiel 24:8 Literally “so as not to be covered”
  16. Ezekiel 24:10 Or “charred”
  17. Ezekiel 24:11 Literally “cause it to stand”
  18. Ezekiel 24:11 Literally “her”
  19. Ezekiel 24:12 Literally “the abundance of its rust”
  20. Ezekiel 24:13 Literally “until causing rest I to my rage”
  21. Ezekiel 24:14 Or “I will judge”
  22. Ezekiel 24:14 Literally “declaration of”
  23. Ezekiel 24:15 Literally “was”
  24. Ezekiel 24:15 Literally “to say”
  25. Ezekiel 24:16 Literally “to say”
  26. Ezekiel 24:16 Or “blow”
  27. Ezekiel 24:17 Or “your mustache” (NASB)
  28. Ezekiel 24:17 Literally “men”
  29. Ezekiel 24:18 Literally “as that”
  30. Ezekiel 24:20 Literally “was”
  31. Ezekiel 24:20 Literally “to say”
  32. Ezekiel 24:21 Or “souls’,” or “selves’”
  33. Ezekiel 24:22 Literally “as that”
  34. Ezekiel 24:22 Or “mustache”
  35. Ezekiel 24:22 Literally “men”
  36. Ezekiel 24:23 Literally “a man to his brother”
  37. Ezekiel 24:24 Literally “like all that he did”
  38. Ezekiel 24:25 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  39. Ezekiel 24:25 Literally “on the day of to take me from them”
  40. Ezekiel 24:25 Or “soul”
  41. Ezekiel 24:26 Literally “with a message for ears”
  42. Ezekiel 24:27 Literally “with the fugitive”; or “to the one who has escaped” (NRSV; cf. NASB)