Death of Ezekiel’s Wife Is a Sign

¹⁵ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you ^(A)what is precious to your eyes with a ^(B)fatal blow; but you shall not ^(C)mourn and you shall not weep, and your ^(D)tears shall not come. ¹⁷ Groan silently; do ^(E)no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet, and do not ^[a]cover your mustache, and ^(F)do not eat the ^[b]bread of other people.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded. ¹⁹ And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are doing?” ²⁰ Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, ^(G)that which is precious in your eyes and the longing of your soul; and your ^(H)sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. ²² And you will do just as I have done; you will not ^[c]cover your mustache, and you will not eat the ^[d]bread of other people. ²³ Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You ^(I)will not mourn and you will not weep; but ^(J)you will rot away in your guilty deeds, and you will groan ^[e]to one another. ²⁴ So Ezekiel will be a ^(K)sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’”

²⁵ ‘As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their ^(L)stronghold, the joy of their splendor, that which is precious in their eyes and their ^[f]heart’s longing, their sons and their daughters, ²⁶ that on that day the one who ^(M)escapes will come to you with information for your ears? ²⁷ On that day your ^(N)mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and no longer be silenced. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”