The Pot and the Meat

24 The word of the Lord my Master came to me. This was on the tenth day of the tenth month, in the ninth year {of exile}.* He said, ²“Son of man,* write today’s date and this note: ‘On this date the army of the king of Babylon surrounded Jerusalem.’ ³Tell this story to the family that refuses to obey (Israel). Tell them these things, ‘The Lord my Master says this: “‘Put the pot on the fire. Put on the pot and pour in the water. ⁴Put in the pieces of meat. Put in every good piece, the thighs and the shoulders. Fill the pot with the best bones. ⁵Use the best animals in the flock. Pile the wood under the pot. And boil the pieces of meat. Boil the soup until even the bones are cooked!’ ^{6 “}So the Lord my Master says these things: ‘It will be bad for {Jerusalem}. It will be bad for that city of murderers. Jerusalem is like a pot with rust on it. And those spots of rust can’t be removed! {That pot is not clean, so you must} take every piece of meat out of the pot! {Don’t eat that meat!} And don’t let {the priests} choose any {of that ruined meat}. ⁷Jerusalem is like a pot with rust on it. Why? Because the blood from the murders is still there! She put the blood on the bare rock! She did not pour the blood on the ground and cover it with dirt.* ⁸I put her blood on the bare rock, so it would not be covered. I did this so people would get angry and punish her for killing innocent people.’ ⁹“So the Lord my Master says these things: ‘It will be bad for that city of murderers! I will pile up plenty of wood for the fire. ¹⁰Put plenty of wood {under the pot}. Light the fire. Cook the meat well done! Mix in the spices.* And let the bones be burned up. ¹¹Then 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’ won’t go away! Only fire (punishment) will remove that rust! 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 won’t 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 won’t hold back the punishment. I won’t feel sorry for you. I will punish you for the bad things you did.’ The Lord my Master said those things.”

The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife

¹⁵Then 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, ¹⁷but you must make your sad sounds quietly. Don’t cry out loud for your dead wife. {You must wear the clothes you normally wear.} Wear your turban* and your shoes. Don’t cover your mustache {to show your sadness}. And don’t eat the food people normally eat when a person dies.” ¹⁸The next morning I told the people what God had said. That evening, my wife died. The next morning I did the things God commanded. ¹⁹Then the people said to me, “Why are you doing these things? What does it mean?” ²⁰Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me. He told me ²¹to speak to the family of Israel. The Lord my Master 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 that place. You really love that place. {But I will destroy that place} and your children that you left behind will be killed in battle. ²²But you will do the same things that I have done {about my dead wife}. You won’t cover your mustache {to show your sadness}. You won’t eat the food people normally eat when a person dies. ²³You will wear your turbans* and your shoes. You won’t show your sadness. You won’t cry. But you will be wasting away because of your sins. You will make your sad sounds quietly to each other. ²⁴So Ezekiel is an example for you. You will do all the same things he did. That time of punishment will come. And then you will know that I am the Lord.’” ^25–26“Son of man,* I will take away that safe place (Jerusalem) from the people. That beautiful place makes them happy. They love to see that place. They really love that place. But at that time, I will take that city and their children away from these people. One of the survivors will come to you with the bad news about Jerusalem. ²⁷At that time, you will be able to speak to that person. You won’t be silent any more. In this way, you will be an example for them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

ninth year of exile This was 15 Jan 588 B.C., the date that Nebuchadnezzar began his attack on Jerusalem. Son of man This was usually just a way of saying “a person,” or “a human being.” But here this is a title for the man, Ezekiel. blood … dirt The Law of Moses teaches that if a person killed an animal for food, he must pour the blood on the ground and cover it with dirt. This showed that he was giving the life of that animal back to God. See Lev. 17:1–16 and Deut. 12:1–25. If the blood was not covered with dirt, then it was a witness against the killer. See Gen. 4:10, Job 15:18, and Isa. 26:21. Mix in the spices We are not sure of the meaning of this sentence. stains Or, “bronze.” turban(s) A head covering made by wrapping a long piece of cloth around the head or around a cap worn on the head.

Prophecy Against Ammon

25 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, ²“Son of man,* look toward the people of Ammon and speak against them for me. ³Say to the people of Ammon: ‘Listen to the word of the Lord my Master! The Lord my Master says this: You were happy when my holy place was destroyed. You were against the land of Israel when it was polluted. You were against the family of Judah when the people were carried away as prisoners. ⁴So I will give you to the people from the east. They will get your land. Their armies will set up their camps in your country. They will live among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. ⁵“‘I will make the city Rabbah a pasture for camels and the country of Ammon a sheep pen. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ⁶The Lord says these things: You were happy that Jerusalem was destroyed. You clapped your hands and stamped your feet. You had fun insulting the land of Israel. ⁷So I will punish you. You will be like the valuable things soldiers take in war. You will lose your inheritance. You will die in faraway lands. I will destroy your country! Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Prophecy Against Moab and Seir

⁸The Lord my Master says these things, “Moab and Seir (Edom) say, ‘The family of Judah is just like any other nation.’ ⁹I will cut into Moab’s shoulder—I will take away its cities which are on its borders, the glory of the land, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. ¹⁰Then I will give these cities to the people of the east. They will get your land. And I will let those people from the east destroy the people of Ammon. Then everyone will forget that the people of Ammon were a nation. ¹¹So, I will punish Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Prophecy Against Edom

¹²The Lord my Master says these things, “The people of Edom turned against the family of Judah and tried to get even. The people of Edom are guilty.” ¹³So the Lord my Master says: “I will punish Edom. I will destroy the people and the animals in Edom. I will destroy the whole country of Edom, all the way from Teman to Dedan. The Edomites will be killed in battle. ¹⁴I will use my people Israel and get even against Edom. In this way, the people of Israel will show my anger against Edom. Then those people of Edom will know that I punished them.” The Lord my Master said these things.

Prophecy Against the Philistines

¹⁵The Lord my Master says these things, “The Philistines tried to get even. They were very cruel. They let their anger burn inside them too long!” ¹⁶So the Lord my Master said, “I will punish the Philistines. Yes, I will destroy those people from Crete. I will completely destroy those people living on the sea coast. ¹⁷I will punish those people—I will get even. I will let my anger teach them a lesson. Then they will know that I am the Lord!”

Son of man This was usually just a way of saying “a person,” or “a human being.” But here this is a title for the man, Ezekiel.

The Sad Message About Tyre

26 In the eleventh year {of exile},* on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ²“Son of man,* Tyre said bad things about Jerusalem: ‘Hurray! The city gate protecting the people is destroyed! The city gate is open for me. The city (Jerusalem) is ruined, so I can get plenty of valuable things out of it!’” ³So the Lord my Master says: “I am against you, Tyre! I will bring many nations to fight against you. They will come again and again, like waves on the beach.” ⁴{God said,} “Those enemy soldiers will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers. I will also scrape the topsoil from her land. I will make Tyre a bare rock. ⁵Tyre will become a place by the sea for spreading fishing nets. I have spoken!” The Lord my Master says, “Tyre will be like the valuable things soldiers take in war. ⁶Her daughters (small towns) on the mainland will be killed in battle. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Nebuchadnezzar Will Attack Tyre

⁷The Lord my Master says these things, “I will bring an enemy from the north against Tyre. That enemy is Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of Babylon! He will bring a very large army. There will be horses, chariots,* horse soldiers and many, many other soldiers! Those soldiers will be from many different nations. ⁸Nebuchadnezzar will kill your daughters (small towns) on the mainland. He will build towers to attack your city. He will build a dirt road around your city. He will build a dirt road leading up to the walls. ⁹He will bring the logs to break down your walls. He will use picks and break down your towers. ¹⁰There will be so many of his horses that the dust from them will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of horse soldiers, wagons, and chariots when the king of Babylon enters the city through your city gates. Yes, they will come into your city because its walls will be pulled down. ¹¹The king of Babylon will come riding through your city. His horses’ hoofs* will come pounding over your streets. He will kill your people with swords. The strong columns in your city will fall to the ground. ¹²Nebuchadnezzar’s men will take away your riches. They will take the things you wanted to sell. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. They will throw your stones and wood {houses} into the sea like garbage. ¹³So I will stop the sound of your happy songs. People won’t hear your harps any more. ¹⁴I will make you a bare rock. You will be a place by the sea for spreading fishing nets! You won’t be built again. Why? Because I, the Lord, have spoken!” The Lord my Master said those things.

Other Nations Will Cry for Tyre

¹⁵The Lord my Master says this to Tyre: “The countries along the Mediterranean coast will shake at the sound of your fall. That will happen when your people are hurt and killed. ¹⁶Then all the leaders of the countries by the sea will step down from their thrones {and show their sadness}. They will take off their special robes. They will take off their beautiful clothes. Then they will put on their ‘clothes of shaking’ (fear). They will sit on the ground and shake with fear. They will be shocked at how quickly you were destroyed. ¹⁷They will sing this sad song about you: “‘Tyre, you were a famous city.* People came from across the sea to live in you.* You were famous, but now you are gone! You were strong on the sea, and so were the people living in you. You made all the people living on the mainland afraid of you. ¹⁸Now, on the day you fall, the countries along the coast will shake with fear. You started many colonies along the coast. Now those people will be scared when you are gone!’” ¹⁹The Lord my Master says these things, “{Tyre, I will destroy you} and you will become an old, empty city. No one will live there. I will cause the sea to flow over you. The great sea will cover you. ²⁰I will send you down into that deep hole—to the place where dead people are. You will join the people that died long ago. I will send you to the world below, like all the other old, empty cities. You will be with all the others that go down to the grave. No one will live in you then. You will never again be in the land of the living! ²¹Other people will be afraid about what happened to you. You will be finished! People will look for you, but they will never find you again!” That is what the Lord my Master says.

eleventh year of exile This is probably the summer of 587 B.C. See 2 Kings 25:3. Son of man This was usually just a way of saying “a person,” or “a human being.” But here this is a title for the man, Ezekiel. chariot(s) A small wagon used in war. hoof(s) The hard part of a horse’s foot. you were a famous city This can also mean, “People have cried for you.” People … you This can also mean, “People have lived in you for a long time.”