¹And the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month and said, ²“Son of Adam, write down today's date – this very day. The king of Babylon has drawn near to Jerusalem on this very day. ³And tell the rebellious house a proverb, and say to them, ‘This is what my Lord the Lord says:

«Put the pot on;

Put it on,

And pour water into it too.

⁴Add its ingredients to it

– Every fine piece of thigh and shoulder;

Fill it with choice joints.

⁵Take the choice of the small cattle,

And also burn the bones under it,

And boil it thoroughly,

And also cook its bones with it.»

⁶Therefore this is what my Lord the Lord says:

«Woe, City of Blood,

Pot which has scum in it,

Which the scum does not come out of.

Bring it out piece by piece.

No lot shall be cast for it.

⁷For her blood is within her confines;

She has put it on a dry surface of a rock.

She did not put it on the ground,

So having it covered with dust.

⁸It is to arouse fury

– To exact vengeance –

That I have put her blood on a dry surface of a rock,

To prevent it being covered over.»

⁹Therefore this is what my Lord the Lord says:

«Woe to the City of Blood.

I for my part will make the bonfire large.

¹⁰Increase the amount of wood,

Light the fire,

Prepare the flesh;

Spice the ointment,

And let the bones be burned.

¹¹And stand it empty on its burning coals

So that it becomes hot,

And its copper burns,

And its uncleanness melts inside it,

And its scum is consumed.

¹²She has caused weariness with vain actions,

And the large quantity of her scum has not come out of her.

In the fire with her scum!

¹³In your uncleanness is your unchaste way,

Because I cleansed you,

But you did not become clean.

You will not be cleansed of your uncleanness any more

Until I have laid my fury on you.

¹⁴I, the Lord, have spoken.

It will come,

And I will do it.

I will not relent,

Nor will I have pity,

Nor will I show compassion.

They will judge you according to your ways

And according to your deeds,

Says the Lord, the Lord.» ’ ”

¹⁵And the word of the Lord came to me and said, ¹⁶“Son of Adam, I am about to take the delight of your eye away from you with a plague, but you shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come. ¹⁷Silence any groaning, do not mourn for the dead; put your turban on, and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your moustache, and do not eat bread brought by other people.” ¹⁸So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. Then I acted in the morning as I had been commanded. ¹⁹Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things which you are doing mean to us?” ²⁰So I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me and said, ²¹‘Say to the house of Israel, «This is what my Lord the Lord says: ‹I am about to profane my sanctuary, the magnificence of your strength, the delight of your eyes and the object of your tender affection. And your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. ²²And you shall do what I have done. You shall not cover your moustache, and you shall not eat bread brought by other people. ²³And wear your turbans on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You shall not mourn, and you shall not weep. And you will waste away in your iniquities, and you will groan to each other. ²⁴And Ezekiel will be a sign to you. Do according to everything he has done. When it comes to you, you will know that I am the Lord, the Lord.› » ²⁵And as for you, son of Adam, will it not be on the day when I take their stronghold from them, their magnificent object of joy, the delight of their eyes and what is dear to their heart – their sons and their daughters – ²⁶on that day, will it not be that an escapee will come to you to give information? ²⁷On that day your mouth will be opened with the escapee, and you will speak, for you will no longer be mute, and you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”