1Â Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, Yahwehâs word came to me, saying, 2Â âSon of man, write the name of the day, this same day. The king of Babylon drew close to Jerusalem this same day. 3Â Utter a parable to the rebellious house, and tell them, âThe Lord Yahweh says,
âPut the cauldron on the fire.
Put it on,
and also pour water into it.
4Â Gather its pieces into it,
even every good piece:
the thigh and the shoulder.
Fill it with the choice bones.
5Â Take the choice of the flock,
and also a pile of wood for the bones under the cauldron.
Make it boil well.
Yes, let its bones be boiled within it.â
âWoe to the bloody city,
to the cauldron whose rust is in it,
and whose rust hasnât gone out of it!
Take out of it piece after piece
without casting lots for it.
7 â â âFor the blood she shed is in the middle of her.
She set it on the bare rock.
She didnât pour it on the ground,
to cover it with dust.
8Â That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance,
I have set her blood on the bare rock,
that it should not be covered.â
âWoe to the bloody city!
I also will make the pile great.
10Â Heap on the wood.
Make the fire hot.
Boil the meat well.
Make the broth thick,
and let the bones be burned.
11Â Then set it empty on its coals,
that it may be hot,
and its bronze may burn,
and that its filthiness may be molten in it,
that its rust may be consumed.
12Â She is weary with toil;
yet her great rust,
rust by fire, doesnât leave her.
13 â â âIn your filthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed you and you werenât cleansed, you wonât be cleansed from your filthiness any more, until I have caused my wrath toward you to rest.
14 â â âI, Yahweh, have spoken it. It will happen, and I will do it. I wonât go back. I wonât spare. I wonât repent. According to your ways and according to your doings, they will judge you,â says the Lord Yahweh.â â
15Â Also Yahwehâs word came to me, saying, 16Â âSon of man, behold, I will take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears run down. 17Â Sigh, but not aloud. Make no mourning for the dead. Bind your headdress on you, and put your sandals on your feet. Donât cover your lips, and donât eat mournerâs bread.â
18Â So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. So I did in the morning as I was commanded.
19Â The people asked me, âWonât you tell us what these things mean to us, that you act like this?â
20 Then I said to them, âYahwehâs word came to me, saying, 21 âSpeak to the house of Israel, âThe Lord Yahweh says: âBehold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. 22 You will do as I have done. You wonât cover your lips or eat mournerâs bread. 23 Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You wonât mourn or weep; but you will pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another. 24 Thus Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.â â â â
25Â âYou, son of man, shouldnât it be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their heartâtheir sons and their daughtersâ 26Â that in that day he who escapes will come to you, to cause you to hear it with your ears? 27Â In that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped, and you will speak and be no more mute. So you will be a sign to them. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.â