24 One day late in December of the ninth year (of King Jehoiachin’s captivity), another message came to me from the Lord.

² “Son of dust,” he said, “write down this date, for today the king of Babylon has attacked Jerusalem. ³ And now give this parable to these rebels, Israel; tell them, ‘The Lord God says: Put a pot of water on the fire to boil. ⁴ Fill it with choicest mutton, the rump and shoulder and all the most tender cuts. ⁵ Use only the best sheep from the flock, and heap fuel on the fire beneath the pot. Boil the meat well, until the flesh falls off the bones.’”

⁶ For the Lord God says: “Woe to Jerusalem, City of Murderers; you are a pot that is pitted with rust and with wickedness. So take out the meat chunk by chunk in whatever order it comes—for none is better than any other.^{[a] 7} For her wickedness is evident to all—she boldly murders, leaving blood upon the rocks in open view for all to see; she does not even try to cover it. ⁸ And I have left it there, uncovered, to shout to me against her and arouse my wrath and vengeance.

⁹ “Woe to Jerusalem, City of Murderers. I will pile on the fuel beneath her. ¹⁰ Heap on the wood; let the fire roar and the pot boil. Cook the meat well, and then empty the pot and burn the bones. ¹¹ Now set it empty on the coals to scorch away the rust and corruption. ¹² But all for naught—it all remains despite the hottest fire. ¹³ It is the rust and corruption of your filthy lewdness, of worshiping your idols. And now, because I wanted to cleanse you and you refused, remain filthy until my fury has accomplished all its terrors upon you! ¹⁴ I, the Lord, have spoken it; it shall come to pass and I will do it.”

¹⁵ Again a message came to me from the Lord, saying:

¹⁶ “Son of dust, I am going to take away your lovely wife. Suddenly, she will die. Yet you must show no sorrow. Do not weep; let there be no tears. ¹⁷ You may sigh, but only quietly. Let there be no wailing at her grave; don’t bare your head nor feet, and don’t accept the food brought to you by consoling friends.”

¹⁸ I proclaimed this to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did all the Lord had told me to.

¹⁹ Then the people said: “What does all this mean? What are you trying to tell us?”

^20-21 And I answered, “The Lord told me to say to the people of Israel: ‘I will destroy my lovely, beautiful Temple, the strength of your nation. And your sons and daughters in Judea will be slaughtered by the sword. ²² And you will do as I have done; you may not mourn in public or console yourself by eating the food brought to you by sympathetic friends. ²³ Your head and feet shall not be bared; you shall not mourn or weep. But you will sorrow to one another for your sins and mourn privately for all the evil you have done. ²⁴ Ezekiel is an example to you,’ the Lord God says. ‘You will do as he has done. And when that time comes, then you will know I am the Lord.’”

²⁵ “Son of dust, on the day I finish taking from them in Jerusalem the joy of their hearts and their glory and joys—their wives and their sons and their daughters— ²⁶ on that day a refugee from Jerusalem will start on a journey to come to you in Babylon to tell you what has happened. ²⁷ And on the day of his arrival, your voice will suddenly return to you so that you can talk with him; and you will be a symbol for these people, and they shall know I am the Lord.”