Ezekiel 24-25

New King James Version

Symbol of the Cooking Pot^(A)

24 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day—the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem ^(B)this very day. ³^(C)And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

^(D)“Put on a pot, set it on,
And also pour water into it.
⁴Gather pieces of meat in it,
Every good piece,
The thigh and the shoulder.
Fill it with choice ^[a]cuts;
⁵Take the choice of the flock.
Also pile fuel bones under it,
Make it boil well,
And let the cuts simmer in it.”

⁶‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Woe to ^(E)the bloody city,
To the pot whose scum is in it,
And whose scum is not gone from it!
Bring it out piece by piece,
On which no ^(F)lot has fallen.
⁷For her blood is in her midst;
She set it on top of a rock;
^(G)She did not pour it on the ground,
To cover it with dust.
⁸That it may raise up fury and take vengeance,
^(H)I have set her blood on top of a rock,
That it may not be covered.”

⁹‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

^(I)“Woe to the bloody city!
I too will make the pyre great.
¹⁰Heap on the wood,
Kindle the fire;
Cook the meat well,
Mix in the spices,
And let the ^[b]cuts be burned up.

¹¹“Then set the pot empty on the coals,
That it may become hot and its bronze may burn,
That ^(J)its filthiness may be melted in it,
That its scum may be consumed.
¹²She has ^[c]grown weary with ^[d]lies,
And her great scum has not gone from her.
Let her scum be in the fire!
¹³In your ^(K)filthiness is lewdness.
Because I have cleansed you, and you were not cleansed,
You will ^(L)not be cleansed of your filthiness anymore,
^(M)Till I have caused My fury to rest upon you.
¹⁴^(N)I, the Lord, have spoken it;
^(O)It shall come to pass, and I will do it;
I will not hold back,
^(P)Nor will I spare,
Nor will I relent;
According to your ways
And according to your deeds
^[e]They will judge you,”
Says the Lord God.’ ”

The Prophet’s Wife Dies

¹⁵Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶“Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall ^(Q)neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. ¹⁷Sigh in silence, ^(R)make no mourning for the dead; ^(S)bind your turban on your head, and ^(T)put your sandals on your feet; ^(U)do not cover your ^[f]lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”

¹⁸So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.

¹⁹And the people said to me, ^(V)“Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?”

²⁰Then I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, ^(W)I will profane My sanctuary, ^[g]your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the ^[h]delight of your soul; ^(X)and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. ²²And you shall do as I have done; ^(Y)you shall not cover your ^[i]lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow. ²³Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; ^(Z)you shall neither mourn nor weep, but ^(AA)you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another. ²⁴Thus ^(AB)Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; ^(AC)and when this comes, ^(AD)you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”

²⁵‘And you, son of man—will it not be in the day when I take from them ^(AE)their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and ^[j]that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters: ²⁶that on that day ^(AF)one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears? ²⁷^(AG)On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Proclamation Against Ammon

25 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, ^(AH)set your face ^(AI)against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them. ³Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God: ^(AJ)“Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, ⁴indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the ^[k]men of the East, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. ⁵And I will make ^(AK)Rabbah ^(AL)a stable for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks. ^(AM)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁶‘For thus says the Lord God: “Because you ^(AN)clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and ^(AO)rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel, ⁷indeed, therefore, I will ^(AP)stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Proclamation Against Moab

⁸‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because ^(AQ)Moab and ^(AR)Seir say, ‘Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations,’ ⁹therefore, behold, I will clear the territory of Moab of cities, of the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and ^(AS)Kirjathaim. ¹⁰^(AT)To the men of the East I will give it as a possession, together with the Ammonites, that the Ammonites ^(AU)may not be remembered among the nations. ¹¹And I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Proclamation Against Edom

¹²‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(AV)“Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them,” ¹³therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; ^[l]Dedan shall fall by the sword. ¹⁴^(AW)I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance,” says the Lord God.

Proclamation Against Philistia

¹⁵‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(AX)“Because ^(AY)the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with ^[m]a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the ^[n]old hatred,” ¹⁶therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(AZ)“I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the ^(BA)Cherethites ^(BB)and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. ¹⁷I will ^(BC)execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; ^(BD)and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them.” ’ ”