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Then give these rebels an illustration with this message from the Sovereign Lord:

“Put a pot on the fire,
    and pour in some water.
Fill it with choice pieces of meat—
    the rump and the shoulder
    and all the most tender cuts.
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.

“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.
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!
So I will splash her blood on a rock
    for all to see,
an expression of my anger
    and vengeance against her.

“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.”

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And utter an allegory to the rebellious house and say to them: Thus says the Lord God:

Set on the pot; set it on;
    pour in water also;(A)
put in it the pieces,
    all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder;
    fill it with choice cuts.
Take the choicest one of the flock;
    pile the logs[a] under it;
boil its pieces;[b]
    seethe[c] also its bones in it.

Therefore thus says the Lord God:

Woe to the bloody city,
    the pot whose crud is in it,
    whose crud has not gone out of it!
Empty it piece by piece,
    making no choice at all.[d](B)
For the blood she shed is inside it;
    she placed it on a bare rock;
she did not pour it out on the ground,
    to cover it with earth.(C)
To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance,
    I have placed the blood she shed
    on a bare rock,
    so that it may not be covered.

Therefore thus says the Lord God:

Woe to the bloody city!
    I will even make the pile great.(D)
10 Heap up the logs; kindle the fire;
    boil the meat well; boil down the broth;[e]
    let the bones be burned.
11 Stand it empty upon the coals,
    so that it may become hot, its copper glow,
    its filth melt in it, its crud be consumed.
12 In vain I have wearied myself;[f]
    its thick crud does not depart.
    To the fire with its crud!
13 Yet when I cleansed you in your filthy lewdness,
    you did not become clean from your filth;
you shall not again be cleansed
    until I have satisfied my fury upon you.(E)

14 I the Lord have spoken; the time is coming; I will act. I will not refrain; I will not spare; I will not relent. According to your ways and your doings I will judge you, says the Lord God.(F)

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Footnotes

  1. 24.5 Heb the bones
  2. 24.5 Heb mss: MT its boilings
  3. 24.5 Cn: Heb its bones seethe
  4. 24.6 Heb piece, no lot has fallen on it
  5. 24.10 Gk: Heb mix in the spices
  6. 24.12 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain