9. “‘So this is what the Lord GOD says: It will be bad for that city of murderers! I will pile up plenty of wood for the fire.
10. Put plenty of wood under the pot. Light the fire. Cook the meat until it is well done. Mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned up.
11. Then let the pot stand empty on the coals. Let it become so hot that its stains begin to glow. Those stains will be melted away. The rust will be destroyed.
12. “‘Jerusalem might work hard to scrub away her stains. But that ‘rust’ will not go away! Only the fire of punishment will remove it.
13. “‘You sinned against me and became stained with sin. I wanted to wash you and make you clean, but the stains would not come out. I will not try washing you again until my hot anger is finished with you!
14. “‘I am the Lord. I said your punishment would come, and I will make it happen. I will not hold back the punishment or feel sorry for you. I will punish you for the evil things you did. This is what the Lord GOD said.’”
15. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said,
16. “Son of man, you love your wife very much, but I am going to take her away from you. Your wife will die suddenly, but you must not show your sadness. You must not cry loudly. You will cry and your tears will fall,
17. but you must mourn quietly. Dress as you normally do; wear your turban and sandals; don’t cover your mustache, and don’t eat the food people normally eat when someone dies.”
18. The next morning I told the people what God had said. That evening, my wife died. The next morning I did what God commanded.
19. Then the people said to me, “Why are you doing this? What does it mean?”
20. Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me. He told me
21. to speak to the family of Israel. The Lord GOD said, ‘Look, I will destroy my holy place. You are proud of that place and sing songs of praise about it. You love to see it. You really love that place. But I will destroy it, and your children that you left behind will be killed in battle.
22. But you will do the same things that I have done about my dead wife. You will not cover your mustache or eat the food people normally eat when someone dies.