24:1 Now the word of the LORD came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying,
24:2 “Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon ①has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.
▷ ①Lit leaned on
24:3 Present a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ①GOD says:
“Put on the pot, put it on and also pour water into it;
▷ ①Heb YHWH, usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch
24:4 ①Put in it the pieces of meat,
Every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder;
Fill it with choice bones.
▷ ①Lit Gather her pieces
24:5 Take the choicest of the flock,
And also stack ①wood under ②the pot.
Make it boil vigorously.
Also boil its bones in it.”
▷ ①Cf. v 10; MT bones ②Lit it
24:6 ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says:
“Woe to the bloody city,
To the pot in which there is rust
And whose rust has not gone out of it!
Take out of it piece after piece,
①Without making a choice.
▷ ①Lit No lot has fallen on it
24:7 For her blood is in her midst;
She placed it on the bare rock;
She did not pour it on the ground
To cover it with dust.
24:8 So that it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance,
I have put her blood on the bare rock,
So that it will not be covered.”
24:9 Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says:
“Woe to the bloody city!
I also will make the wood pile great.
24:10 Heap on the wood, kindle the fire,
①Cook the meat thoroughly
And mix in the spices,
And let the bones be burned up.
▷ ①Lit Finish
24:11 Then set it empty on its burning coals
So that it may be hot
And its bronze may ①glow,
And its filthiness may be melted in it,
Its rust eliminated.
▷ ①Lit burn
24:12 She has wearied Me with work,
Yet her great rust has not gone from her;
Let her rust be in the fire!
24:13 In your filthiness is outrageous sin.
Because I would have cleansed you,
Yet you are not clean,
You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again
Until I have ①expended My wrath on you.
▷ ①Lit caused to rest
24:14 I, the LORD, have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not overlook, I will not pity, and I will not be sorry; according to your ways and according to your deeds ①I will judge you,” declares the Lord GOD.’ ”
▷ ①As in several mss and ancient versions; MT they
24:15 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
24:16 “Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you what is precious to your eyes with a fatal blow; but you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come.
24:17 Groan silently; do no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet, and do not ①cover your mustache, and do not eat the ②bread of other people.”
▷ ①Covering the beard and mustache was a mourning custom ②I.e., food from others for mourners
24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded.
24:19 And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are doing?”
24:20 Then I said to them, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
24:21 ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, that which is precious in your eyes and the longing of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.
24:22 And you will do just as I have done; you will not ①cover your mustache, and you will not eat the ②bread of other people.
▷ ①See note 1 v 17 ②See note 2 v 17
24:23 Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn and you will not weep; but you will rot away in your guilty deeds, and you will groan ①to one another.
▷ ①Lit each to his brother
24:24 So Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’ ”
24:25 ‘As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their splendor, that which is precious in their eyes and their ①heart’s longing, their sons and their daughters,
▷ ①Lit soul’s burden
24:26 that on that day the one who escapes will come to you with information for your ears?
24:27 On that day your mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and no longer be silenced. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.’ ”