¹ Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

² Son of man, Write for thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.

³ And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:

⁴ Gather its pieces into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.

⁵ Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them boil its bones in it.

⁶ Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.

⁷ For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;

⁸ That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.

⁹ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.

¹⁰ Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.

¹¹ Then set it empty upon its coals, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be melted in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.

¹² She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.

¹³ In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.

¹⁴ I the LORD have spoken it; it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the LORD GOD.

¹⁵ Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹⁶ Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thy eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.

¹⁷ Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thy head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.

¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning: and at evening my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

¹⁹ And the people said to me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?

²⁰ Then I answered them, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

²¹ Speak to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellence of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; 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 cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.

²³ And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one towards another.

²⁴ Thus Ezekiel is to you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

²⁵ Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,

²⁶ That he that escapeth in that day shall come to thee, to cause thee to hear it with thy ears?

²⁷ In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him who hath escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign to them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

¹ The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,

² Please inquire of Yahweh for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us: perhaps Yahweh will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.

³ Then Jeremiah said to them, You shall tell Zedekiah:

⁴ Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans who besiege you, without the walls; and I will gather them into the midst of this city.

⁵ I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation.

⁶ I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and animal: they shall die of a great pestilence.

⁷ Afterward, says Yahweh, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, even such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life: and he shall strike them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.

⁸ To this people you shall say, Thus says Yahweh: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.

⁹ He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes out, and passes over to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey.

¹⁰ For I have set my face on this city for evil, and not for good, says Yahweh: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

¹¹ Touching the house of the king of Judah, hear the word of Yahweh:

¹² House of David, thus says Yahweh, Execute justice in the morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

¹³ Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, [and] of the rock of the plain, says Yahweh; you that say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?

¹⁴ I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, says Yahweh; and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is around her.