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24 Again in the ninth year [of King Jehoiachin’s captivity by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon], in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Son of man, record the name of the day, even of this same day; the king of Babylon set himself against and assailed Jerusalem this same day.

And utter a parable against the rebellious house [of Judah] and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Put on a pot; put it on and also pour water into it.

Put into it the pieces [of meat], all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder; fill it with the choice of the bones.

Take the choicest of the flock and burn also the unused bones under it, and make it boil well and seethe its bones in [the pot].

Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust and scum are in it and whose rust and scum have not gone out of it! Take out of it piece by piece, without making any choice.

For the blood she has shed remains in the midst of her; she put it upon the bare rock; she did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust.

That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood [guilt for her children sacrificed to Molech] upon the bare rock, that it would not be covered.

Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloodguilty city! Also I will make the pile [of fuel] great.

10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire and make it hot, boil well the meat and mix the spices, pour out the broth when thick, and let the bones be burned up.

11 Then set [the pot Jerusalem] back empty upon the coals, that the bronze of it may be hot and may glow and the filthiness of it may be melted in it and the rust and scum of it may be consumed.

12 She has wearied herself and Me with toil; yet her great rust and scum go not forth out of her, for however hotly the fire burns, her thick rust and filth will not go out of her by fire.

13 In your filthiness is abomination; [and therefore] because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed, you shall not be cleansed from your filthiness any more until I have satisfied My wrath against and upon you.

14 I the Lord have spoken it; it shall come to pass and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I relent; according to your ways and according to your doings shall they judge and punish you, says the Lord God.

15 Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

16 Son of man [Ezekiel], behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes [your wife] at a single stroke. Yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears flow.

17 Sigh and groan, but not aloud [be silent]; make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban upon your head and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your beard or eat the bread of mourners [furnished by others].

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

19 And the people said to me, Will you not tell us what these things are supposed to mean to us, that you are acting as you do?

20 Then 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, I will profane My sanctuary—[in which you take] pride as your strength, the desire of your eyes, and the pity and sympathy of your soul [that you would spare with your life]; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword.

22 And you shall do as I [Ezekiel] have done; you shall not cover your beard nor eat the bread of mourning [brought to you by others],

23 And your turbans shall be upon your heads and your shoes upon your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall pine away for your iniquities (your guilt) and sigh and groan to one another.(A)

24 Thus Ezekiel is to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. And when this [destruction of the temple] comes, you shall know, understand, and realize that I am the Lord God [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service].

25 And you, son of man, on the day when I take from them [My temple] their strength and their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the delight of their eyes and their hearts’ chief desire, and also [take] their sons and their daughters—

26 On that day an escaped fugitive shall come to you to cause you to hear of it [the destruction of Jerusalem] with your own ears.

27 In that day your mouth shall be open to him who has escaped, and you shall speak and be no more speechless, and you shall be a sign to them and they shall know, understand, and realize that I am the Lord.

25 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying,

Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.

And say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God, for thus says the Lord God: Because you said Aha! over My sanctuary when it was profaned and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate and over the house of Judah when it went into captivity and exile,

Therefore behold, I am delivering you to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst; they shall eat your fruit and they shall drink your milk.

And I will make Rabbah [your chief city] a stable for camels and [the cities of] the Ammonites a fold for flocks. And you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service].

For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped with the feet and rejoiced [in heart] with all the contempt, malice, and spite that is in you against the land of Israel,

Therefore behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and will hand you over for a prey and a spoil to the nations, and I will cut you off from the peoples and will cause you to perish and be lost out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then will you know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service].(B)

Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab says, as does Seir [Edom], Behold, the house of Judah is like all the [heathen] nations,

Therefore behold, I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontiers and in every quarter, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim.

10 I will give it along with the children of Ammon to the people of the East for a possession, that it and the children of Ammon may not be [any more seriously] remembered among the nations.

11 And I will execute judgments and punishments upon Moab, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service].(C)

12 Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom has dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance and has greatly offended and has become doubly guilty by taking revenge upon them,

13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and will cut off and root out man and beast from it, and I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword.

14 And I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they shall do upon Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath, and they shall know My vengeance, says the Lord God.(D)

15 Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines have dealt revengefully and have taken vengeance contemptuously, with malice and spite in their hearts, to destroy in perpetual enmity,

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites [an immigration in Philistia] and destroy the remainder of the seacoast.

17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with wrathful rebukes and chastisements, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them.(E)

26 And in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month [after the carrying away of King Jehoiachin], the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, Aha! She is broken that has been the gate of the people; she is open to me [Tyre]; I shall become full now that she is desolate and a wasteland,

Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you as the sea mounts up by its waves.

And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also [a]scrape her dust from her and make her bare like the top of a rock.

Her island in the midst of the sea shall become a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken it, says the Lord God; and she shall become a prey and a spoil to the nations.

And Tyre’s daughters [her towns and villages on the mainland] in the level place shall be slain by the sword, and they shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service].

For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring from the north upon Tyre [b]Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, with horses and chariots and with horsemen and a host of many people.

He shall slay with the sword your daughters [the towns and villages] in the level area [on the mainland], and he shall make a fortified wall against you and cast up a siege mound against you and raise up a roof of bucklers and shields as a defense against you.

And he shall set his battering engines in shock against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers.

10 Because of the great number of [Nebuchadrezzar’s] horses, their dust will cover you; your walls [O Tyre] will shake at the noise of the horsemen and of the wagon wheels and of the chariots, when he enters into your gates as men enter into the city in whose walls there has been made a breach.

11 With the hoofs of his horses [Nebuchadrezzar] will trample all your streets; he will slay your people with the sword and your strong pillars or obelisks will fall to the ground.

12 And [your adversaries] shall make a spoil of your riches and make booty of your merchandise. And they shall break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses, and they shall lay the stones and the timber and the very dust from your demolished city out in the midst of the water [between the island and the mainland city site to make a causeway].

13 And I will cause the noise of your songs to cease, and the sound of your lyres shall be no more heard.

14 And I will make you [Tyre] a [c]bare rock; you shall be a place upon which to spread nets; you shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken it, says the Lord God.

15 Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Shall not the isles and coastlands shake at the sound of your fall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made in the midst of you?

16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and strip off their embroidered garments; they shall clothe themselves with tremblings; they shall sit upon the ground and shall tremble every moment and be astonished at you and appalled.

17 They shall take up a lamentation over you and say to you, How you are destroyed and vanished, O renowned city that was won from the seas and inhabited by seafaring men, renowned city that was mighty on the sea, she and her inhabitants who caused their terror to fall upon all who dwell there!

18 Now the isles and coastlands tremble in the day of your fall; yes, the isles that are in the sea are troubled and dismayed at your departure.

19 For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a desolate city like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and great waters cover you,

20 Then I will thrust you down with those who descend into the pit (the place of the dead) to the people of olden times, and I will make you [Tyre] to dwell in the lower world like the places that were desolate of old, with those who go down to the pit, that you be not inhabited or shed forth your glory and renown in the land of the living.

21 I will make you a terror [bring you to a dreadful end] and you shall be no more. Though you be sought, yet you shall never be found again, says the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 26:4 To prevent Nebuchadnezzar from getting her valuables, Tyre transported herself to an island a half mile out in the sea. The conqueror destroyed the city on the mainland and left. But more than two centuries later, Alexander the Great took the ruins of the old city, even scraping up the dust, and made a causeway to the island, thus fulfilling the prophecy exactly.
  2. Ezekiel 26:7 See footnote on Jer. 21:2.
  3. Ezekiel 26:14 According to Herodotus, Tyre’s history began in 2750 b.c. It was a fortified city in Joshua’s time (Josh. 19:29), and later became a great maritime commercial center (Isa. 23:8). Yet Jeremiah (27:2-7; 47:4) and Ezekiel (26:3-21; 28:6-10) foretold utter destruction for Tyre, naming not less than twenty-five separate details, each of which in the following centuries came true literally. Mathematicians have estimated, according to the “Law of Compound Probabilities,” that if a prophecy concerning a person, place, or event has twenty-five details beyond the possibility of human collusion, calculation, coincidence, and comprehension, there is only one chance in more than thirty-three and one-half million of its accidental fulfillment. Yet Tyre’s history at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, and then more than two centuries later at the hands of Alexander the Great, and centuries after that at the hands of the Crusaders, was the striking fulfillment of each detail of the prophets’ forecasts. No other city in the world’s history could have fulfilled them. The authenticity and credibility of God’s Word leaves no chance for sane denial. See footnote on Zeph. 2:7 for information about a similar fulfillment of details of Bible prophecy with regard to Palestine and to the end of Christ’s life.

Jerusalem as a Cooking Pot

24 In the ninth year, in the tenth month on the tenth day, the word of the Lord came to me:(A) “Son of man, record(B) this date, this very date, because the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.(C) Tell this rebellious people(D) a parable(E) and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Put on the cooking pot;(F) put it on
    and pour water into it.
Put into it the pieces of meat,
    all the choice pieces—the leg and the shoulder.
Fill it with the best of these bones;(G)
    take the pick of the flock.(H)
Pile wood beneath it for the bones;
    bring it to a boil
    and cook the bones in it.(I)

“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Woe(J) to the city of bloodshed,(K)
    to the pot now encrusted,
    whose deposit will not go away!
Take the meat out piece by piece
    in whatever order(L) it comes.(M)

“‘For the blood she shed is in her midst:
    She poured it on the bare rock;
she did not pour it on the ground,
    where the dust would cover it.(N)
To stir up wrath and take revenge
    I put her blood on the bare rock,
    so that it would not be covered.

“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Woe to the city of bloodshed!
    I, too, will pile the wood high.
10 So heap on the wood
    and kindle the fire.
Cook the meat well,
    mixing in the spices;
    and let the bones be charred.
11 Then set the empty pot on the coals
    till it becomes hot and its copper glows,
so that its impurities may be melted
    and its deposit burned away.(O)
12 It has frustrated all efforts;
    its heavy deposit has not been removed,
    not even by fire.

13 “‘Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed(P) from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided.(Q)

14 “‘I the Lord have spoken.(R) The time has come for me to act.(S) I will not hold back; I will not have pity,(T) nor will I relent.(U) You will be judged according to your conduct and your actions,(V) declares the Sovereign Lord.(W)’”

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 “Son of man, with one blow(X) I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes.(Y) Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears.(Z) 17 Groan quietly;(AA) do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban(AB) fastened and your sandals(AC) on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard(AD) or eat the customary food of mourners.(AE)

18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.(AF)

19 Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things have to do with us?(AG) Why are you acting like this?”

20 So I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: 21 Say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary(AH)—the stronghold in which you take pride,(AI) the delight of your eyes,(AJ) the object of your affection. The sons and daughters(AK) you left behind will fall by the sword.(AL) 22 And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache and beard(AM) or eat the customary food of mourners.(AN) 23 You will keep your turbans(AO) on your heads and your sandals(AP) on your feet. You will not mourn(AQ) or weep but will waste away(AR) because of[a] your sins and groan among yourselves.(AS) 24 Ezekiel(AT) will be a sign(AU) to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’

25 “And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes,(AV) their heart’s desire,(AW) and their sons and daughters(AX) as well— 26 on that day a fugitive will come to tell you(AY) the news. 27 At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent.(AZ) So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.(BA)

A Prophecy Against Ammon

25 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against(BB) the Ammonites(BC) and prophesy against them.(BD) Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you said “Aha!(BE)” over my sanctuary when it was desecrated(BF) and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile,(BG) therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East(BH) as a possession. They will set up their camps(BI) and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk.(BJ) I will turn Rabbah(BK) into a pasture for camels and Ammon into a resting place for sheep.(BL) Then you will know that I am the Lord. For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands(BM) and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel,(BN) therefore I will stretch out my hand(BO) against you and give you as plunder(BP) to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy(BQ) you, and you will know that I am the Lord.(BR)’”

A Prophecy Against Moab

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Moab(BS) and Seir(BT) said, “Look, Judah has become like all the other nations,” therefore I will expose the flank of Moab, beginning at its frontier towns—Beth Jeshimoth(BU), Baal Meon(BV) and Kiriathaim(BW)—the glory of that land. 10 I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered(BX) among the nations; 11 and I will inflict punishment on Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”(BY)

A Prophecy Against Edom

12 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Edom(BZ) took revenge on Judah and became very guilty by doing so, 13 therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand(CA) against Edom and kill both man and beast.(CB) I will lay it waste, and from Teman(CC) to Dedan(CD) they will fall by the sword.(CE) 14 I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger(CF) and my wrath; they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”(CG)

A Prophecy Against Philistia

15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because the Philistines(CH) acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice(CI) in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah, 16 therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines,(CJ) and I will wipe out the Kerethites(CK) and destroy those remaining along the coast.(CL) 17 I will carry out great vengeance(CM) on them and punish(CN) them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the Lord,(CO) when I take vengeance on them.(CP)’”

A Prophecy Against Tyre

26 In the eleventh month of the twelfth[b] year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:(CQ) “Son of man, because Tyre(CR) has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha!(CS) The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea(CT) casting up its waves. They will destroy(CU) the walls of Tyre(CV) and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. Out in the sea(CW) she will become a place to spread fishnets,(CX) for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder(CY) for the nations,(CZ) and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar[c](DA) king of Babylon, king of kings,(DB) with horses and chariots,(DC) with horsemen and a great army. He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works(DD) against you, build a ramp(DE) up to your walls and raise his shields against you. He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons.(DF) 10 His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the warhorses, wagons and chariots(DG) when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through. 11 The hooves(DH) of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars(DI) will fall to the ground.(DJ) 12 They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and rubble into the sea.(DK) 13 I will put an end(DL) to your noisy songs,(DM) and the music of your harps(DN) will be heard no more.(DO) 14 I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt,(DP) for I the Lord have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.

15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands(DQ) tremble(DR) at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan(DS) and the slaughter takes place in you? 16 Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered(DT) garments. Clothed(DU) with terror, they will sit on the ground,(DV) trembling(DW) every moment, appalled(DX) at you. 17 Then they will take up a lament(DY) concerning you and say to you:

“‘How you are destroyed, city of renown,
    peopled by men of the sea!
You were a power on the seas,
    you and your citizens;
you put your terror
    on all who lived there.(DZ)
18 Now the coastlands tremble(EA)
    on the day of your fall;
the islands in the sea
    are terrified at your collapse.’(EB)

19 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths(EC) over you and its vast waters cover you,(ED) 20 then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit,(EE) to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place[d] in the land of the living.(EF) 21 I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more.(EG) You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign Lord.”(EH)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 24:23 Or away in
  2. Ezekiel 26:1 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text does not have month of the twelfth.
  3. Ezekiel 26:7 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Ezekiel and Jeremiah
  4. Ezekiel 26:20 Septuagint; Hebrew return, and I will give glory