Ezekiel 24

The Parable of the Cooking Pot

¹In the ninth year, on the tenth day of the tenth month, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, write down today’s date, for on this very day the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem. ³Now speak a parable to this rebellious house and tell them that this is what the Lord Yahweh says:

• EZK 24:1[PROPHECY]God told Ezekiel in Babylon the exact day the siege of Jerusalem began → 2KI 25:1; JER 52:4
• EZK 24:1[NOTE]THE NINTH YEAR. January 588 BC. That very day Babylon's army surrounded Jerusalem, 2 Kings 25:1, hundreds of miles away.

‘Put the pot on the fire;

put it on and pour in the water.

• EZK 24:3[NOTE]THE POT. The leaders had said the city was a safe pot, 11:3. Now the rusty pot itself will be heated until the rust burns away.

⁴Put in the pieces of meat,

every good piece—

thigh and shoulder—

fill it with choice bones.

⁵Take the choicest of the flock

and pile the fuel beneath it.

Bring it to a boil

and cook the bones in it.’

⁶Therefore this is what the Lord Yahweh says:

‘Woe to the city of bloodshed,

to the pot now rusted,

whose rust will not come off!

Empty it piece by piece;

cast no lots for its contents.

⁷For the blood she shed is still within her;

she poured it out on the bare rock;

she did not pour it on the ground

to cover it with dust.

⁸In order to stir up wrath

and take vengeance,

I have placed her blood on the bare rock,

so that it would not be covered.’

⁹Yes, this is what the Lord Yahweh says:

‘Woe to the city of bloodshed!

I, too, will pile the kindling high.

¹⁰Pile on the logs and kindle the fire;

cook the meat well

and mix in the spices;

let the bones be burned.

¹¹Set the empty pot on its coals

until it becomes hot and its copper glows.

Then its impurity will melt within;

its rust will be consumed.

¹²It has frustrated every effort;

its thick rust has not been removed,

even by the fire.

¹³Because of the indecency of your uncleanness

I tried to cleanse you,

but you would not be purified

from your filthiness.

You will not be pure again

until My wrath against you has subsided.

¹⁴I, Yahweh, have spoken;

the time is coming, and I will act.

I will not refrain or show pity,

nor will I relent.

I will judge you

according to your ways and deeds,’

declares the Lord Yahweh.”

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

¹⁵Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁶“Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a fatal blow. But you must not mourn or weep or let your tears flow. ¹⁷Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”

• EZK 24:16[PROPHECY]Ezekiel's wife would die suddenly and he must not mourn → EZK 24:18
• EZK 24:16[NOTE]THE DESIRE OF YOUR EYES. Ezekiel's wife, 24:18. God told him ahead of time that she would die, and told him not to mourn in public, as a sign. Those few words show how much he loved her.
• EZK 24:17[NOTE]GROAN QUIETLY. God did not tell him not to grieve. He told him to groan quietly and skip the public mourning customs. His grief was real.

¹⁸So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And the next morning I did as I had been commanded.

• EZK 24:18[FULFILLS]Ezekiel's wife would die suddenly and he must not mourn ← EZK 24:16-18

¹⁹Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things you are doing mean to us?”

²⁰So I answered them, “The word of Yahweh came to me, saying: ²¹Tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘I am about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul. And the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.’

• EZK 24:21[NOTE]THEIR DELIGHT. The temple was the people's delight. Like Ezekiel, they would lose what they loved most, and the loss would be too big for the usual mourning, 24:23.

²²Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners. ²³Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins, and you will groan among yourselves.

²⁴‘Thus Ezekiel will be a sign for you; you will do everything that he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.’

²⁵And you, son of man, know that on the day I take away their stronghold, their pride and joy—the desire of their eyes which uplifted their souls—and their sons and daughters as well, ²⁶on that day a fugitive will come and tell you the news. ²⁷On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”

• EZK 24:26[PROPHECY]A fugitive would bring news of the fall and Ezekiel's mouth would be opened → EZK 33:21-22