1Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me. He said:
2"Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has set himself against Jerusalem on this very day."
3"Tell a parable to the rebellious house. Say to them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: Put on the pot, put it on, and pour water into it."
4"'Gather the pieces into it, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the best bones."
5"'Take the best of the flock, and pile the bones under it as well. Make it boil hard, and let its bones be cooked in it."
6"'So this is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the bloody city, the pot whose scum is still in it, whose scum has not come out of it! Bring the meat out piece by piece; let no lot fall on it."
7"'For her blood is in the middle of her. She put it on the top of a rock. She did not pour it on the ground, to cover it with dust."
8"'It was so that fury might rise up and take vengeance. I have set her blood on the top of a rock, so that it should not be covered."
9"'Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the bloody city! I myself will make the pile for the fire great."
10"'Heap on the wood, light the fire, use up the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned."
11"'Then set the pot empty on its coals, so that its brass may grow hot and burn, and its filthiness may be melted in it, and its scum burned away."
12"'She has worn herself out with lies, and her heavy scum did not come out of her. Her scum shall go into the fire."
13"'In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you and you were not cleansed, you shall not be cleansed from your filthiness any more, until I have made my fury rest on you."
14"'I the LORD have spoken it. It shall happen, and I will do it. I will not go back, I will not spare, and I will not repent. They shall judge you by your ways and by your deeds, says the Lord GOD.'"
15Also the word of the LORD came to me. He said:
16"Son of man, look, with one blow I am taking away from you the desire of your eyes. Yet you must not mourn or weep, and no tears must run down."
17"Hold back your crying. Make no mourning for the dead. Bind your headdress on your head, and put your shoes on your feet. Do not cover your lips, and do not eat the bread of men."
18So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. In the morning I did as I was commanded.
19And the people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, since you are acting like this?"
20Then I answered them, "The word of the LORD came to me. He said:"
21'Say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I will make my sanctuary unholy, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, the thing your soul pities. And your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword.
22'And you shall do as I have done. You shall not cover your lips or eat the bread of men.
23'Your headdresses shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You shall not mourn or weep, but you shall waste away because of your sins, and groan to one another.
24"'So Ezekiel is a sign to you. You shall do everything that he has done. When this comes, you will know that I am the Lord GOD.'"
25"And you, son of man, will it not be so? On the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and what their minds are set on, their sons and their daughters,"
26"on that day one who escapes will come to you, to make you hear it with your own ears."
27"On that day your mouth will be opened to the one who has escaped. You will speak and be silent no more. You will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD."