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the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, record the date of this day, this very day; for the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3 Speak a parable to the rebellious house and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“Put the cooking pot on, put it on,
and pour water into it also.
4 Put the pieces of meat in it,
every good piece—
the thigh and the shoulder.
Fill it with choice bones.
5 Take the choicest of the flock,
pile up wood beneath it for the bones,
bring it to the boil,
and cook the bones in it.”
6 ‘For this is what the Lord God says:
“Woe to the city of bloodshed,
the pot now encrusted with scum,
whose build up will not come off!
Empty it piece by piece,
without any lots being cast for its contents.
7 For the blood she shed is in the midst of her:
she poured it out on the bare rock;
she did not pour it out on the ground,
to cover it with dust.
8 So wrath will be stirred up to take vengeance,
I have set her blood on the bare rock,
So that it will not be covered.”
9 ‘Therefore this is what the Lord God says:
‘Woe to the city of bloodshed!
I too will make the pile of wood large.
10 Heap up the logs
and kindle the fire!
Cook the meat well,
mixing in the spices,
and let the bones be burned.
11 Then set the empty pot on the coals,
so that it may become hot and its copper glow.
Then the filth in it will melt,
and its scum will be consumed.
12 All the effort has been in vain;
its thick scum will not shift.
Into the fire with its scum!
13 In the filthiness of your lewdness
I tried to cleanse you,
yet you would not be cleansed from your filth;
so you will not be clean again
until I have satisfied My wrath upon you.
14 ‘I, the Lord, have spoken.
It will coming, and I will do it;
I will not hold back;
I will not spare, nor will I relent.
You will be judged according to your ways
and according to your deeds”,
says the Lord God’.”
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 “Son of man, behold, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet you must not either lament or weep, or let your tears run down. 17 Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Bind your turban on your head and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”
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.
19 Then the people said to me, “Won’t you tell us the meaning of these things you are doing?”
20 So I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me: 21 ‘Say to the house of Israel: “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your heart. Your sons and your daughters whom you left behind will fall by the sword. 22 And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners. 23 You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins and groan to one another. 24 Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you. Everything he has done, you will do also. When this happens, then you will know that I am the Lord God’ ”.
25 ‘And you, son of man, on that day when I take their stronghold from them, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, and the desire of their hearts, and their sons and their daughters also, 26 on that day a fugitive will come to you and tell you the news. 27 On that day your mouth will be opened to the fugitive; then you will speak and no longer remain silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord’.”