1The word of Yahweh came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, saying:
2Son of man, write down for yourself the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem on this very day.
3And speak a parable against the house of rebellion, and say to them: Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Set on the pot, set it on, and also pour water into it.
4Gather its pieces into it, every good piece, thigh and shoulder; fill it with the choicest bones.
5Take the choicest of the flock, and also pile the bones beneath it; make it boil vigorously, cook its bones within it as well.
6Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the city of bloodshed, the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Empty it piece by piece; no lot has fallen upon it.
7For her blood is in her midst; she set it on the bare rock. She did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust.
8To stir up wrath, to take vengeance, I have set her blood on the bare rock, so that it may not be covered.
9Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the city of bloodshed! I too will make the pile great.
10Heap up the wood, kindle the fire, finish off the meat, mix in the spices, and let the bones be scorched.
11Then set it empty on its coals, so that it may grow hot and its bronze glow, that its uncleanness may be melted within it, its corrosion consumed.
12It has wearied itself with toil, yet its heavy corrosion has not gone out of it; into the fire with its corrosion!
13In your uncleanness is lewdness. Because I would have cleansed you but you were not clean, you shall not be clean again from your uncleanness until I have satisfied my wrath upon you.
14I, Yahweh, have spoken; it is coming, and I will act. I will not hold back, I will not spare, and I will not relent. According to your ways and according to your deeds they will judge you, declares the Lord Yahweh.
15And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying:
16Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the delight of your eyes with a sudden blow, yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears flow.
17Groan in silence; make no mourning for the dead. Bind your turban upon you, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache or eat the bread of mourners.
18So 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.
19And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are doing this?”
20Then I said to them: The word of Yahweh came to me, saying:
21Say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am about to profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind will fall by the sword.
22And you will do as I have done: you will not cover your mustache or eat the bread of mourners.
23Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away in your iniquities and groan to one another.
24So Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done you will do. When it comes, you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.
25And you, son of man—on the day I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their glory, the delight of their eyes and the longing of their soul, their sons and their daughters—
26on that day a fugitive will come to you to make it heard in your ears.
27On that day your mouth will be opened to the fugitive, and you will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am Yahweh.
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