Ezekiel 24 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

The word of Yahweh came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month:

"Son of man, write down this date — this exact day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.

Tell this story to these rebellious people. Say to them: This is what Yahweh, the Lord, says: Set the pot on the fire. Set it on and pour water into it.

Gather the cuts of meat into it — every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the choicest bones.

Take the choicest of the flock. Stack the fuel beneath it. Bring it to a rolling boil so that even the bones inside it are cooked through.

So this is what Yahweh, the Lord, says: It's over for the city of bloodshed — the pot so crusted with corrosion that the corrosion will never come off. Take out the pieces one by one — no lots need be cast for them.

Because the blood she spilled is still in the middle of her — she poured it out on bare rock. She did not pour it on the ground where dust could cover it.

To stir up my fury, to take vengeance, I placed her blood on bare rock where it cannot be covered.

So this is what Yahweh, the Lord, says: It's over for the city of bloodshed! I myself will pile the fuel high.

Heap on the wood. Light the fire. Cook the meat through. Mix in the spices. Let the bones be charred.

Then set the empty pot on the coals until it glows red-hot, until its copper burns bright, until the filth inside it melts away and its corrosion is consumed.

She has exhausted all efforts. Her thick corrosion will not leave her. Into the fire with her corrosion!

Your filth is your moral depravity. Because I tried to cleanse you but you refused to be cleansed of your filth, you will not be clean again until I have spent my fury on you.

I, Yahweh, have spoken. The time has come. I will act. I will not hold back. I will not feel sorry. I will not change my mind. You will be judged by how you lived and what you did — this is the declaration of Yahweh, the Lord.

The word of Yahweh came to me:

"Son of man, I am about to take from you the delight of your eyes with a single blow. But you must not mourn, you must not weep, and your tears must not flow.

Groan in silence. Do not perform the mourning rites for the dead. Keep your turban bound on your head, keep your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your upper lip. Do not eat the bread that mourners eat."

I spoke to the people in the morning, and by evening my wife was dead. The next morning I did exactly as I had been commanded.

The people said to me, "Won't you tell us what all this means for us? Why are you acting this way?"

I said to them, "The word of Yahweh came to me:

Say to the house of Israel: This is what Yahweh, the Lord, says — I am about to desecrate my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes, the longing of your soul. And your sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.

Then you will do as I have done: you will not cover your upper lip, and you will not eat the bread that mourners eat.

Your turbans will stay on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn. You will not weep. Instead, you will waste away in your guilt and groan to one another.

Ezekiel will be a sign for you. Everything he has done, you will do. When this happens, you will know that I am Yahweh, the Lord.

"And you, son of man — on the day I take from them their stronghold, their magnificent joy, the delight of their eyes, the longing of their hearts, and their sons and daughters too —

on that day, a survivor will come to you with the news, and you will hear it with your own ears.

On that day, your mouth will open to the survivor, and you will speak and be silent no more. You will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am Yahweh."