Ezekiel 24
New Living Translation
The Sign of the Cooking Pot
24 On January 15,[a] during the ninth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, write down today’s date, because on this very day the king of Babylon is beginning his attack against Jerusalem. 3 Then give these rebels an illustration with this message from the Sovereign Lord:
“Put a pot on the fire,
and pour in some water.
4 Fill it with choice pieces of meat—
the rump and the shoulder
and all the most tender cuts.
5 Use only the best sheep from the flock,
and heap fuel on the fire beneath the pot.
Bring the pot to a boil,
and cook the bones along with the meat.
6 “Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
What sorrow awaits Jerusalem,
the city of murderers!
She is a cooking pot
whose corruption can’t be cleaned out.
Take the meat out in random order,
for no piece is better than another.
7 For the blood of her murders
is splashed on the rocks.
It isn’t even spilled on the ground,
where the dust could cover it!
8 So I will splash her blood on a rock
for all to see,
an expression of my anger
and vengeance against her.
9 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
What sorrow awaits Jerusalem,
the city of murderers!
I myself will pile up the fuel beneath her.
10 Yes, heap on the wood!
Let the fire roar to make the pot boil.
Cook the meat with many spices,
and afterward burn the bones.
11 Now set the empty pot on the coals.
Heat it red hot!
Burn away the filth and corruption.
12 But it’s hopeless;
the corruption can’t be cleaned out.
So throw it into the fire.
13 Your impurity is your lewdness
and the corruption of your idolatry.
I tried to cleanse you,
but you refused.
So now you will remain in your filth
until my fury against you has been satisfied.
14 “I, the Lord, have spoken! The time has come, and I won’t hold back. I will not change my mind, and I will have no pity on you. You will be judged on the basis of all your wicked actions, says the Sovereign Lord.”
The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife
15 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 16 “Son of man, with one blow I will take away your dearest treasure. Yet you must not show any sorrow at her death. Do not weep; let there be no tears. 17 Groan silently, but let there be no wailing at her grave. Do not uncover your head or take off your sandals. Do not perform the usual rituals of mourning or accept any food brought to you by consoling friends.”
18 So I proclaimed this to the people the next morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did everything I had been told to do. 19 Then the people asked, “What does all this mean? What are you trying to tell us?”
20 So I said to them, “A message came to me from the Lord, 21 and I was told to give this message to the people of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will defile my Temple, the source of your security and pride, the place your heart delights in. Your sons and daughters whom you left behind in Judah will be slaughtered by the sword. 22 Then you will do as Ezekiel has done. You will not mourn in public or console yourselves by eating the food brought by friends. 23 Your heads will remain covered, and your sandals will not be taken off. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins. You will groan among yourselves for all the evil you have done. 24 Ezekiel is an example for you; you will do just as he has done. And when that time comes, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”
25 Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold—their joy and glory, their heart’s desire, their dearest treasure—I will also take away their sons and daughters. 26 And on that day a survivor from Jerusalem will come to you in Babylon and tell you what has happened. 27 And when he arrives, your voice will suddenly return so you can talk to him, and you will be a symbol for these people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 24
Common English Bible
The useless pot
24 In the ninth year, on the tenth day of the tenth month, the Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, write down today’s date, because today the king of Babylon has set up camp at Jerusalem—today! 3 Compose a parable for the rebels’ household and say to them, The Lord God proclaims:
Put on the pot, set it on,
and fill it with water.
4 Add meat to it,
every good piece.
With shoulder and thigh,
the meatiest bones, fill it up.
5 Take the flock’s best animal;
arrange the wood[a] beneath it.
Bring it to a rolling boil,
and cook its bones in it.
6 The Lord God proclaims: Horror! You bloody city, you corroded pot; pot whose corrosion can’t be removed! Empty it piece by piece. She is rejected[b] 7 because her blood is still with her. She didn’t pour it out on the ground so that it could be covered with dirt, but she spread it out on a bare rock. 8 In order to arouse wrath, to guarantee vengeance, I will spread her blood on a bare rock, never to be covered.
9 So now the Lord God proclaims:
Horror! You bloody city!
I myself will add fuel to the fire!
10 Pile on the wood, light the fire, and cook the meat.
Season it well and let the bones be charred.
11 Let the pot stand empty on its coals
until it’s so hot that its copper glows,
its impurities melt in it,
and its corrosion is consumed.
12 It’s a worthless task.
Even by fire its great corrosion isn’t removed.
13 How your betrayals defile you! I cleansed you, but you didn’t come clean from your impurities. You won’t be clean again until I have exhausted my anger against you. 14 I, the Lord, have spoken! It’s coming, and I’ll do it. I won’t relent or have any pity or compassion. Your punishments will fit your ways and your deeds! This is what the Lord God says.
Ezekiel’s wife dies
15 The Lord’s word came to me: 16 Human one, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you in a single stroke. Don’t mourn or weep. Don’t even let your tears well up. 17 Sigh inwardly; be deathly still. Don’t perform mourning rites, but bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet. And don’t cover your upper lip or eat in human company.
18 I spoke with the people in the morning, and by evening my wife was dead. The next morning I did as I was commanded. 19 The people asked, “Won’t you tell us what your actions mean for us?”
20 So I said to them, The Lord’s word came to me: 21 Say to the house of Israel, the Lord God proclaims: I’m about to make my sanctuary impure, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes. Your heart’s desire, the sons and daughters you left behind, will fall by the sword. 22 You will do as I have done. You will neither cover your upper lip nor eat in human company. 23 Your turbans will be on your heads, your sandals on your feet. You won’t mourn or weep. You will waste away in your guilt, all of you groaning to each other. 24 Ezekiel is your sign. You will do everything that he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.
25 And you, human one: On the day that I take from them their proud stronghold—their crowning joy, the delight of their eyes—and their sons and daughters, whose fate weighs on them, 26 on that day, a refugee will come to you so that you yourself will hear the news. 27 On that day your mouth will be opened to the refugee, and you will speak and no longer be silent. You will be their sign, and they will know that I am the Lord.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 24:5 Or bones
- Ezekiel 24:6 Or the lot did not fall to her
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible