Ezekiel
Chapter 24
1 In the ninth year, on the tenth day of the tenth month, God’s message came to me.
2 Human, write down the name of this day, because today the king of Babylon has attacked Jerusalem.
3 Tell a story to the stubborn people and say to them, “This is what God says: Put a pot on the stove, set it there, and fill it with water.”
4 Collect the parts into it, including every good piece, the leg, and the arm; pack it with the best bones.
5 Choose the best of the flock, burn the bones beneath it, cook it thoroughly, and boil the bones in it.
6 So God says: “Trouble waits for the violent city, for the pot filled with filth that remains inside. Take it apart bit by bit; don’t spare any of it.”
7 Her blood is inside her; she put it on a rock’s top; she didn’t pour it on the earth to cover it with dust.
8 I did this to make anger rise and to get revenge; I put her blood on a rock where it can’t be hidden.
9 So this is what God says: Trouble to the city of blood! I will make a big fire pile.
10 Put on lots of wood, light the fire, cook the meat, season it well, and burn the bones.
11 Place it empty on the coals so that it gets hot, burns, melts away its dirt, and its scum is removed.
12 She wore herself out with lies, and her deep filth didn’t leave her: her filth will burn in the fire.
13 In your dirtiness is bad behavior: because I tried to clean you and you were not cleaned, you will not be cleaned from your dirtiness anymore, until I have let my anger rest on you.
14 I, God, have said it: it will happen, and I will do it; I won’t change my mind, nor will I feel sorry; based on your actions and what you’ve done, you will be judged, says God.
15 God spoke to me, saying,
16 Human, see, I will take away from you what you love most suddenly: but you must not mourn or cry or let tears fall.
17 Don’t cry or mourn for the dead, wear your headband, put on your shoes, don’t cover your lips, and don’t eat the food given for mourning.
18 I told the people in the morning, and by evening my wife had died. The next morning, I did what I was told to do.
19 And the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these actions mean for us?”
20 I replied to them, “God’s message came to me. He said,”
21 Talk to the people of Israel and say this: God says, “Look, I will let my sanctuary be treated badly. It is your pride, what you love most, and what you feel sorry for. Your children, both sons and daughters, whom you left behind, will die by the sword.”
22 Do as I did: do not cover your lips or eat people’s bread.
23 You will wear turbans on your heads and shoes on your feet. You will not mourn or cry, but you will waste away because of your sins and grieve among yourselves.
24 Ezekiel is a sign for you: just as he did, you should do the same. When it happens, you will know that I am God.
25 Also, you human, when I take away their power, the joy of their pride, what they desire most, and all they think about—their sons and daughters.
26 The person who escapes that day will come to you to make you hear it with your ears.
27 On that day you will be able to speak to the one who has escaped, you will talk and not be silent anymore; you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am God.