The Parable of the Cooking Pot

1And in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, write thee the name of the day, of this selfsame day: on this selfsame day the king of Babylon draws near to Jerusalem.

3And propose a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Set on the pot, set [it] on, and also pour water into it.

4Gather the pieces thereof into it, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder; fill [it] with the choice bones:

5take the choice of the flock; and also [put] a pile of wood under it, for the bones; make it boil well, and let the bones of it seethe therein.

6Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! Bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it:

7for her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust.

8That it might cause fury to come up to execute vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered.

9Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.

10Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, boil thoroughly the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.

11Then set it empty upon its coals, that it may be hot, and the brass of it may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, [and] that its rust may be consumed.

12She hath exhausted [her] labours, yet her great rust goeth not forth out of her: let her rust be in the fire.

13In thy filthiness is lewdness, for I have purged thee, and thou art not pure. Thou shalt no more be purged from thy filthiness, till I have satisfied my fury upon thee.

14I Jehovah have spoken [it]: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, nor will I repent. According to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Ezekiel's Wife Dies

15And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 16Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke; yet thou shalt not mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 17Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind thy turban upon thee, and put thy sandals upon thy feet, and cover not the beard, and eat not the bread of men. 18 -- And I spoke unto the people in the morning; and at even my wife died. And I did in the morning as I was commanded. 19And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, which thou doest? 20And I said to them, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 21Say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and your soul's longing; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword. 22And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover the beard, neither eat the bread of men; 23and your turbans shall be upon your heads, and your sandals upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall waste away in your iniquities and moan one toward another. 24Thus Ezekiel shall be unto you a sign; according to all that he hath done shall ye do: when it cometh, then ye shall know that I [am] the Lord Jehovah.

25And thou, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereunto they lift up their soul, their sons and their daughters, 26that in that day he that escapeth shall come unto thee, to cause [thine] ears to hear [it]? 27In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him that is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb. So shalt thou be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I [am] Jehovah.