1 The word of Jehovah came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, He said:

2 »Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.

3 »Speak a parable to the rebellious house. Say to them: The Lord Jehovah says, »Put on the cooking pot, put it on and also pour water in it.

4 »Put in it the pieces, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with choice bones.

5 »Take the choicest of the flock. Also pile wood under the pot. Make it boil vigorously. Also boil its bones in it.« ’«

6 »Therefore, the Lord Jehovah says: ‘Woe to the bloody city, To the cooking pot in which there is rust and whose rust has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making a choice.

7 »»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.

8 ‘»That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood on the bare rock, that it may not be covered.’

9 »The Lord Jehovah says: ‘Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.

10 ‘»Heap on the wood and kindle the fire. Boil the flesh well and mix in the spices and let the bones be burned.

11 ‘»Then set it empty on its coals so that it may be hot and its copper may glow and its filthiness may be melted in it. Let its rust be consumed.

12 ‘»She has made me tire with toil, yet her great rust has not gone from her. Let her rust be in the fire!’

13 ‘»In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I would have cleansed you, yet you are not clean. You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again until I have spent my anger on you.

14 ‘»I, Jehovah, have spoken. It is coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not pity and I will not be sorry! I will judge you according to your ways and according to your deeds.’ This is a declaration of the Lord Jehovah.«

15 Jehovah continued to speak his word to me:

16 »Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a blow. You will, however, not mourn and you will not weep, and your tears will not come.

17 »Groan silently; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet. Do not cover your mustache and do not eat the bread of men.«

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.

19 »The people said to me: »Will you not tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?«

20 Then I said to them: »The word of Jehovah came to me, and He said:

21 »Speak to the house of Israel. Tell them Jehovah says: ‘I am about to profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes and your delight. Your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.

22 ‘»You will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache and you will not eat the bread of men.

23 ‘« ’Your turbans will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You will not mourn and you will not weep. You will rot away in your iniquities and you will groan to one another.

24 ‘»‘So Ezekiel will be a sign to you. You will do according to all that he has done. Then you will know that I am the Lord Jehovah.’« ’

25 »As for you, O son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their pride, the desire of their eyes and their heart's delight, their sons and their daughters,

26 that on that day he who escapes will come to you with information for your ears?

27 »On that day your mouth will be opened to him who escaped. You will speak and be mute no longer. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am Jehovah.«