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,
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.
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.
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.
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].
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.
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.
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.
9. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloodguilty city! Also I will make the pile [of fuel] great.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
15. Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
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.
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].