Chapter 24

^2:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, saying, ² Son

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of man, write for thyself daily from this day, on which the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem, even from this day. ³ And speak a parable to the provoking house, and thou shalt say to them,

Thus saith the Lord; Set on the caldron, and pour water into it: ⁴ and put the pieces into it, every prime piece, the leg and shoulder taken off from the bones, ⁵ which are taken from choice cattle, and burn the bones under them: her bones are boiled and cooked in the midst of her.

⁶ Therefore thus saith the Lord; O bloody city, the caldron in which there is ¹scum, and the scum has not gone out of, she has brought it forth piece by piece, no lot has fallen upon it. ⁷ For her blood is in the midst of her; I have set it upon a smooth rock: I have not poured it out upon the earth, so that the earth should cover it; ⁸ that my wrath should come up for complete vengeance to be taken: I set her blood upon a smooth rock, so as not to cover it.

⁹ Therefore thus saith the Lord, I will also make the firebrand great, ¹⁰ and I will multiply the wood, and kindle the fire, that the flesh may be consumed, and the liquor boiled away; ¹¹ and that it may stand upon the coals, that her brass may be ²thoroughly heated, and be melted in the midst of her filthiness, and her scum may be consumed, ¹² and her abundant scum may not come forth of her. ¹³ Her scum shall become shameful, because thou didst defile thyself: and what if thou shalt be purged no more until I have accomplished my wrath?

¹⁴ I the Lord have spoken; and it shall come, and I will do it; I will not delay, neither will I have any mercy: I will judge thee, saith the Lord, according to thy ways, and according to thy devices: therefore will I judge thee according to thy bloodshed, and according to thy devices will I judge thee, thou unclean, notorious, and abundantly provoking one.

¹⁵ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ Son of man, behold I take from thee the desire of thine eyes ³by violence: thou shalt not lament, neither shalt thou weep. ¹⁷ Thou shalt groan for blood, and have mourning upon thy loins; thy hair shall not be braided upon thee, and thy sandals shall be on thy feet; thou shalt in no wise be comforted by their lips, and thou shalt not eat the bread of men.

¹⁸ And I spoke to the people in the morning, as he commanded me in the evening, and I did in the morning as it was commanded me. ¹⁹ And the people said to me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are that thou doest? ²⁰ Then I said to them, The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ Say to the house of Israel,

Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the boast of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and for which your souls ⁴are concerned; and your sons and your daughters, whom ye have left, shall fall by the sword. ²² And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not be comforted at their mouth, and ye shall not

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eat the bread of men. ²³ And your hair shall be upon your head, and your shoes on your feet: neither shall ye at all lament or weep; but ye shall pine away in your iniquities, and shall comfort every one his brother. ²⁴ And Ezekiel shall be for a sign to you: according to all that I have done shall ye do, when these things shall come; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

²⁵ And thou, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take their strength from them, the pride of their boasting, the desires of their eyes, and the pride of their soul, their sons and their daughters, ²⁶ that in that day he that escapes shall come to thee, to tell it thee in thine ears? ²⁷ In that say thy mouth shall be opened to him that escapes; thou shalt speak, and shalt be no longer ⁵dumb: and thou shalt be for a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.