24 Then Yahweh gave me another message on the 15th of January of the ninth year since King Yehoyakin had been taken captive. 2 “Son of humanity, write down the day and month for yourself, because on this exact day, the Babylonian king started his siege of Yerushalem (Jerusalem).[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.”