The Parable of the Cooking Pot

1In the ninth year, on the tenth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD 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 GOD says:

‘Put the pot on the fire;

put it on and pour in the water.

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 GOD 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 GOD 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, the LORD, 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 GOD.”