Ezekiel
Chapter 24
1
1 On the tenth day of the tenth month, in the ninth year, the word of the LORD came to me:
2
Son of man, write down this date today, for this very day the king of Babylon has invested Jerusalem.
3
2 Propose this parable to the rebellious house: Thus says the Lord GOD: Set up the pot, set it up, then pour in some water.
4
Put in it pieces of meat, all good pieces: thigh and shoulder; Fill it with the choicest joints
5
taken from the pick of the flock. Then pile the wood beneath it; bring to a boil these pieces and the joints that are in it.
6
Take out its pieces, one by one, without casting lots for it. Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, a pot containing rust, whose rust has not been removed.
7
3 For the blood she shed is in her midst; she poured it on the bare rock; she did not pour it out on the earth, to be covered with dust.
8
To work up my wrath, to excite my vengeance, she put her blood on the bare rock, not to be covered.
9
Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: I, too, will heap up a great bonfire,
10
piling on wood and kindling the fire, Till the meat has been cooked, till the broth has boiled.
11
Then I will set the pot empty on the coals till its metal glows red hot, till the impurities in it melt, and its rust disappears.
12
Yet not even with fire will its great rust be removed.
13
Because you have sullied yourself with lewdness when I would have purified you, and you refused to be purified of your uncleanness, therefore you shall not be purified until I wreak my fury on you.
14
I, the LORD, have spoken; it is coming, for I will bring it about without fail. I will not have pity nor repent. By your conduct and your deeds you shall be judged, says the Lord GOD.
15
Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
16
Son of man, by a sudden blow I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes, but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.
17
4 Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead, bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet, do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread.
18
That evening my wife died, and the next morning I did as I had been commanded.
19
Then the people asked me, "Will you not tell us what all these things that you are doing mean for us?" I therefore spoke to the people that morning,
20
saying to them: Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
21
Say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of your pride, the delight of your eyes, the desire of your soul. The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.
24
Ezekiel shall be a sign for you: all that he did you shall do when it happens. Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
22
5 You shall do as I have done, not covering your beards nor eating the customary bread.
23
Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet. You shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another.
25
As for you, son of man, truly, on the day I take away from them their bulwark, their glorious joy, the delight of their eyes, the desire of their soul, and the pride of their hearts, their sons and daughters,
26
that day the fugitive will come to you, that you may hear it for yourself;
27
that day your mouth shall be opened and you shall be dumb no longer. Thus you shall be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
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Footnotes

1 [1] The tenth day of the tenth month, in the ninth year: January 15, 588 B.C. The same date is given in Jeremiah 52:4.

2 [3-5] This present comparison of the inhabitants of Jerusalem to meat boiled in a pot symbolizes their punishment rather than their supposed protection as in Ezekiel 11:3.

3 [7] Blood . . . to be covered with dust: since blood was sacred to God, it had to be covered with earth (Lev 17:13); the blood of a murdered man that was left uncovered cried to heaven for vengeance; cf Job 16:18; Genesis 4:10.

4 [17] The customary bread: eaten as a mourning observance; cf Jeremiah 16:7. The other gestures here forbidden were also popular mourning customs.

5 [23-24] (22,23) The fall of the city will be so sudden and final that the exiles will have no time to go into mourning.


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