24:1  AGAIN IN the ninth year [of King Jehoiachin's captivity by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon], in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

24:2  Son of man, record the name of the day, even of this same day; the king of Babylon set himself against {and} assailed Jerusalem this same day.

24:3  And utter a parable against the rebellious house [of Judah] and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Put on a pot; put it on and also pour water into it.

24:4  Put into it the pieces [of meat], all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder; fill it with the choice of the bones.

24:5  Take the choicest of the flock and burn also the unused bones under it, and make it boil well and seethe its bones in [the pot].

24:6  Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust {and} scum are in it and whose rust {and} scum have not gone out of it! Take out of it piece by piece, without making any choice.

24:7  For the blood she has shed remains in the midst of her; she put it upon the bare rock; she did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust.

24:8  That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood [guilt for her children sacrificed to Molech] upon the bare rock, that it would not be covered.

24:9  Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloodguilty city! Also I will make the pile [of fuel] great.

24:10  Heap on wood, kindle the fire {and} make it hot, boil well the meat {and} mix the spices, pour out the broth when thick, and let the bones be burned up.

24:11  Then set [the pot Jerusalem] back empty upon the coals, that the bronze of it may be hot and may glow and the filthiness of it may be melted in it and the rust {and} scum of it may be consumed.

24:12  She has wearied herself {and} Me with toil; yet her great rust {and} scum go not forth out of her, for however hotly the fire burns, her thick rust {and} filth will not go out of her by fire.

24:13  In your filthiness is abomination; [and therefore] because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed, you shall not be cleansed from your filthiness any more until I have satisfied My wrath against {and} upon you.

24:14  I 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 relent; according to your ways and according to your doings shall they judge {and} punish you, says the Lord God.

24:15  Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

24:16  Son of man [Ezekiel], behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes [your wife] at a single stroke. Yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears flow.

24:17  Sigh {and} groan, but not aloud [be silent]; make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban upon your head and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your beard or eat the bread of mourners [furnished by others].

24:18  So I spoke to the people in the morning and in the evening my wife died, and I did the next morning as I was commanded.

24:19  And the people said to me, Will you not tell us what these things are supposed to mean to us, that you are acting as you do?

24:20  Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

24:21  Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will profane My sanctuary--[in which you take] pride as your strength, the desire of your eyes, and the pity {and} sympathy of your soul [that you would spare with your life]; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword.

24:22  And you shall do as I [Ezekiel] have done; you shall not cover your beard nor eat the bread of mourning [brought to you by others],

24:23  And your turbans shall be upon your heads and your shoes upon your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall pine away for your iniquities (your guilt) and sigh {and} groan to one another.

24:24  Thus Ezekiel is to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. And when this [destruction of the temple] comes, you shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord God [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service].

24:25  And you, son of man, on the day when I take from them [My temple] their strength {and} their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the delight of their eyes and their hearts' chief desire, and also [take] their sons and their daughters--

24:26  On that day an escaped fugitive shall come to you to cause you to hear of it [the destruction of Jerusalem] with your own ears.

24:27  In that day your mouth shall be open to him who has escaped, and you shall speak and be no more speechless, and you shall be a sign to them and they shall know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord.