The Parable of the Cooking Pot

In 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 3 Now 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.

4 

Put in the pieces of meat,

every good piece—

thigh and shoulder —

fill it with choice bones.

5 

Take the choicest of the flock

and pile the fuel beneath it.

Bring it to a boil

and cook the bones in it.’

6 

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says:

‘Woe to the city of bloodshed,

to the pot vvv now rusted

whose rust will not come off

Empty it piece by piece;

cast no lots for its contents.[fn]

7 

For 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.

8 

In order to stir up wrath

and take vengeance

I have placed her blood on the bare rock,

so that it would not be covered.’

9 

Yes, this is what the Lord GOD says:

‘Woe to the city of bloodshed!

I, too, will pile the kindling high.

10 

Pile on the logs and kindle the fire;

cook the meat well

and mix in the spices;

let the bones be burned.

11 

Set 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.

12 

It has frustrated every effort;

its thick rust has not been removed

even by the fire

13 

Because 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.

14 

I, 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.”

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