The Parable of the Cooking Pot

1Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this selfsame day: the king of Babylon drew close unto Jerusalem this selfsame day.

3And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD, Set on the caldron, set it on, and also pour water into it:

4gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.

5Take the choice of the flock, and pile also the bones under it: make it boil well; yea, let the bones thereof be seethed in the midst of it.

6Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; no lot is fallen upon it.

7For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;

8That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered.

9Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.

10Heap on the wood, make the fire hot, boil well the flesh, and make thick the broth, and let the bones be burned.

11Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that it may be hot, and the brass thereof may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the rust of it may be consumed.

12She hath wearied herself with toil: yet her great rust goeth not forth out of her; her rust goeth not forth by fire.

13In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have satisfied my fury upon thee.

14I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel's Wife Dies

15Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 16Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 17Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead, bind thy headtire upon thee, and put thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. 18So I spake unto the people in the morning; and at even my wife died: and I did in the morning as I was commanded. 19And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? 20Then I said unto them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 21Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword. 22And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. 23And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another. 24Thus shall Ezekiel be unto you a sign; according to all that he hath done shall ye do: when this cometh, then shall ye know that I am the Lord GOD.

25And thou, son of man, shall it not 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 heart, their sons and their daughters, 26that in that day he that escapeth shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? 27In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: so shalt thou be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.