Open English Translation EZE Chapter 24

24 Then Yahweh gave me another message on the 15th of January of the ninth year since King Yoyakin (Jehoiachin) had been taken captive. 2 “Humanity’s child, write down the day and month for yourself, because on this exact day, the Babylonian king started his siege of Yerushalem.[ref] 3 So tell this parable to the rebellious Israeli people and explain that it comes from the master Yahweh:

Pour water into the cooking pot and place it on the fire.

4 Put in the leg and shoulder of a good sheep,

then fill it up with the best bones.

5 Yes, take the best one from the flock

and pile up the fuel underneath it—

keeping it boiling to make sure the bones in it cook well.

6 Now the master Yahweh says this: The city of blood won’t end well—it’s like a cooking pot that has rust in it, and that rust won’t come out of it. Take piece after piece out of it, but don’t be choosy about which pieces, 7 because the blood the city shed is all the way through its centre. It displayed the blood on a flat rock to be easily seen, rather than pouring it out on the ground where it could be covered over with dust, 8 so it makes me angry enough to get revenge: I placed the city’s blood on the smooth rock, so it couldn’t be covered.

9 Therefore, the master Yahweh says this: The city of blood won’t end well. I’ll also enlarge the pile of firewood to put underneath it. 10 Stack up the wood and kindle the fire. Cook the meat well and mix in the spices and let the bones be charred. 11 Then put the empty pot onto the hot coals in order to heat and scorch its bronze, so the impurities in it will be melted—its corrosion eaten away.’ 12 That was a lot of work, but the fire didn’t remove the corrosion from it. 13 Your shameful behaviour is in your uncleanness. Because you wouldn’t accept it when I tried to cleanse you, you won’t be purified anymore until I’ve satisfied my fury against you. 14 I, Yahweh, have declared it, and I will do it. I won’t relent, nor will I rest from it. You’ll be judged by your own practices and your own behaviour. That’s the master Yahweh’s declaration.”

15 Then Yahweh gave me another message: 16 “Listen, humanity’s child, I’m taking your cherished wife from you with a plague, but you mustn’t mourn or weep, or let any tears show. 17 You must groan silently. Don’t organise a funeral when she’s dead. Put on your turban and your sandals, but don’t veil your beard, or eat the bread of men who mourn who’ve lost their wives.”

18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and then my wife died in the evening. In the morning I did what I’d been commanded to do. 19 Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things mean—the way that you’re behaving?”

20 “Yahweh gave me a message,” I answered them, 21 “to tell the Israeli people that the master Yahweh says this to them: Listen, I’ll desecrate my sanctuary—the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul—and also your sons and daughters who you left behind there in Yerushalem will be killed by the sword. 22 When that happens, you people will do exactly as I’ve done: you won’t veil your beards, or eat the bread of mourning men, 23 but instead your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You won’t mourn or weep, because you’ll melt away due to your disobedience, and everyone will groan for their relatives. 24 So Yehezkel will be a sign for you, because when that time comes, you’ll do exactly the same as he’s doing. Then you people will know that I am the master Yahweh.’ ”

25 “But you, humanity’s child, on the day that I capture their temple, (which is their joy, their pride, and what they see and desire), and when I take away their sons and daughters, 26 a refugee will come to you here on that day to give you the news. 27 At that time, your mouth will be opened up to that refugee and you’ll speak again—you’ll no longer be silent. You’ll be a sign for them so that they’ll know that I am Yahweh.”