The cooking pot and the meat
1The Lord talked to me. It was the 9th year after we had become prisoners in Babylon, in the 10th month, on the 10th day of the month. The Lord said: 2‘Son of man, you must write down what day it is today, the exact date, because the king of Babylon attacked Jerusalem today. 3You must tell a parable to these rebellious people. You must tell them: “The Lord God says: You must put a pot on the fire and you must put water in the pot. 4Then put some of the best pieces of meat in the pot: thigh, shoulder, good meat and bones. You must fill the pot. 5Take some of the best sheep and goats and put wood under the pot and cook everything. You must cook all the meat and bones in the pot.” ’
6The Lord God says: ‘The people of the city will suffer, this is sure. This is a city where a lot of people have been murdered and where their blood has flowed. The city is like a pot that is rusted and the rust does not come off. You must take out every piece of meat. Do not choose some and leave some. 7Because the people in the city have murdered other people and they have left the blood of those people on a rock. They did not pour out the blood on the ground and cover it with sand. 8I have left the blood on the rock for everyone to see, so that they will know why I am angry and punish them.’
9The Lord God says: ‘That is why the city of murderers will suffer. I will make a big fire Myself. 10You must bring a lot of wood. You must start the fire and cook the meat. You must put in spices and let the bones burn. 11Then you must empty the pot and leave it on the fire until it gets very hot and red. Then all the dirt in the pot will melt away and the rust should come off the pot.
12But after a lot of hard work to try and clean the pot and to burn off the rust, it did not come off. 13You, Jerusalem, you are impure because of all the bad things that you have done. You are like the rust on the pot. I wanted to purify you, but you did not become pure. You will never become pure again until I have punished you enough for making Me angry. 14I, the Lord, have spoken. Your punishment will come. I will do it. I will not forget it, I will not feel sorry for you, and I will not change my plan. I will punish you for all the things that you have done.’ This is what the Lord God said.
Ezekiel's wife will die
15The Lord talked to me and He said: 16‘Son of man, I know that you love your wife very much. I am going to take her away suddenly. She is going to die. But you must not mourn or cry. Your tears must not flow. 17You must not groan loudly, and no one must hear you. Do not cry or mourn. Keep your turban on your head and your shoes on your feet. Do not cover your face and do not eat food that people always eat at a funeral.’
18I talked to the people that morning and my wife died that evening. The next morning I did what God had told me to do. 19Then the people asked me: ‘Please tell us what these things mean that you do. What is it that you want to tell us?’
20I then told them: ‘The Lord talked to me and He said: 21“You must tell the Israelites: The Lord God says: You are proud of my temple, and you think that my temple will protect you. You love the temple and you are happy that it is here. But I will let people come and make the temple impure. The enemies will take you away and your sons and daughters who stay behind in the city will die in war. 22Then you will do what Ezekiel is doing now. You will not cover your faces and you will not eat funeral food. 23Your turbans will be on your heads and your shoes will be on your feet. You will not mourn or cry. Your sins have made you weak, and you will sit and complain to each other. 24Ezekiel will be a sign to you. You will do what he is doing now. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.
25They think that the temple is protecting them. The temple is beautiful to them and they are thankful that it is there with them. They love the temple and it makes them happy. But I will take it away from them and I will also take away their sons and daughters. 26When I do that, someone will escape from Jerusalem and he will come to you, Son of man, and tell you the bad news. 27On that day you will be able to talk again. You will talk to that man and you will be a sign for your people and they will know that I am the Lord.” ’
