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