Ezekiel 24:1–14

¹In the ninth year, on the tenth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, write down today’s date, for on this very day the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem. ³Now speak a parable to this rebellious house and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says:

‘Put the pot on the fire;

put it on and pour in the water.

⁴Put in the pieces of meat,

every good piece—

thigh and shoulder —

fill it with choice bones.

⁵Take the choicest of the flock

and pile the fuel beneath it.

Bring it to a boil

and cook the bones in it.’

⁶Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says:

‘Woe to the city of bloodshed,

to the pot now rusted,

whose rust will not come off!

Empty it piece by piece;

cast no lots for its contents.^a

⁷For the blood she shed is still within her;

she poured it out on the bare rock;

she did not pour it on the ground

to cover it with dust.

⁸In order to stir up wrath

and take vengeance,

I have placed her blood on the bare rock,

so that it would not be covered.’

⁹Yes, this is what the Lord GOD says:

‘Woe to the city of bloodshed!

I, too, will pile the kindling high.

¹⁰Pile on the logs and kindle the fire;

cook the meat well

and mix in the spices;

let the bones be burned.

¹¹Set the empty pot on its coals

until it becomes hot and its copper glows.

Then its impurity will melt within;

its rust will be consumed.

¹²It has frustrated every effort;

its thick rust has not been removed,

even by the fire.

¹³Because of the indecency of your uncleanness

I tried to cleanse you,

but you would not be purified

from your filthiness.

You will not be pure again

until My wrath against you has subsided.

¹⁴I, the LORD, have spoken;

the time is coming, and I will act.

I will not refrain or show pity,

nor will I relent.

I will judge you

according to your ways and deeds,’

declares the Lord GOD.”