Ezekiel's Wife Dies

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ^16 (A)“Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. ¹⁷ Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. ^(B)Bind on your turban, and ^(C)put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, ^(D)nor eat the bread of men.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and ^(E)at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did ^(F)as I was commanded.

¹⁹ And ^(G)the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” ²⁰ Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: ²¹ ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(H)Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and ^(I)your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. ²² And ^(J)you shall do as I have done; ^(K)you shall not cover your lips, ^(L)nor eat the bread of men. ^23 (M)Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but ^(N)you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. ²⁴ Thus shall Ezekiel be to you ^(O)a sign; ^(P)according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then ^(Q)you will know that I am the Lord God.’

²⁵ “As for you, ^(R)son of man, surely on the day when I take from them ^(S)their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul's desire, and also their sons and daughters, ^26 (T)on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news. ²⁷ On that day your mouth ^(U)will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. ^(V)So you will be a sign to them, and ^(W)they will know that I am the Lord.”