Episode 206: God kills Ezekiel's wife

Ezekiel 24-30

The scum-filled pot

24 ¹ One day, the word of God came to me, saying,

² Son of man, write down today's date, because this is the day the king of Babylon will attack Jerusalem.

³ So tell this parable to the people,

Put a pot on the fire and pour water into it.

⁴ Fill it with thighs, shoulders, and bones.

⁵ Burn bones under it and boil it well.

⁶ And say this to the people,

Woe to the bloody city! Woe to the pot filled with scum.

⁷ Her blood is poured on the ground.

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

¹¹ Let all the filthy scum be consumed.

¹² Her scum will be in the fire.

¹³ Her filthiness and lewdness will be purged in my fury.

¹⁴ I, God, have said so. I will do it. I won't spare or go back. And I won't repent.

God kills Ezekiel's wife

¹⁵ The word of God came to me, saying,

¹⁶ Son of man, I'm going to kill your wife. Don't cry or mourn for her.

¹⁸ So that evening my wife died, and I did as God commanded.

¹⁹ The people asked me, "Why aren't you mourning the death of your wife?"

²⁰ I told them,

The word of God came to me and said,

²¹ Say this to the people of Israel,

I'm going to profane my sanctuary, and your children will die with the sword.

²² You must do as Ezekiel did.

²³ Don't mourn or weep when your family is killed.

²⁴ Ezekiel is a sign of what I'm going to do to you. And when I do it, you'll know that I'm God.

Against the Ammonites

25 ¹ The word of God came to me and said,

² Son of man, prophesy against the Ammonites. Say to them,

³ Because you said, "Aha" to my sanctuary when it was profaned

⁴ I will deliver you to the people of the east, who will destroy you.

⁶ Because your clapped your hands and stamped your feet against Israel, I'll stretch out my hand and deliver you to the heathen and destroy you. Then you'll know that I'm God.

Against Moab and Edom

⁸ This is what God says,

Because Moab and Seir say, "Judah is like the heathen."

¹¹ I'll execute judgements on Moab, and they'll know that I'm the Lord.

¹³ I'll stretch out my hand on Edom and kill all of its people and animals with the sword.

¹⁴ I'll lay out my vengeance upon them in my anger and fury. And they'll know my vengeance.

Against the Philistines

¹⁵ This is what God says,

Because the Philistines have taken vengeance,

^16-17 I’ll stretch out my hand on them and take vengeance on them. And they'll know I'm God.

Against Tyrus

26 ¹ The word of God came to me, saying

² Son of man, because Tyrus said against Jerusalem, "Aha, Jerusalem has fallen!"

³ I'm against you, Tyrus. I'll cause many nations to be against you too.

²⁰ I'll bury you in the pit with long-dead people.

²¹ I'll make you a terror, and no one will ever be able to find you again.

God's Tyrus song

27 ¹ The word of God came to me, saying,

² Son of man, sing a lamentation for Tyrus.

³ Say this to Tyrus,

You said of yourself, "I am a perfect beauty."

^29-30 All the ship captains will put dust on their heads and wallow in ashes.

³¹ They'll make themselves bald and gird themselves in sackcloth.

³⁶ The merchants will hiss at you. And you'll be a terror, and never exist again.

God threatens Tyrus

28 ¹ The word of God came to me again, saying,

² Son of man, say this to the prince of Tyrus,

Because you said, "I am God and I sit in God's seat."

³ You are wiser than Daniel. No secret can be hidden from you.

^7-8 I'll bring strangers to draw their swords, who will bring you down into the pit.

⁹ Just before you die, will you say, "I am God"?

¹⁰ You'll die like an uncircumcised person who is killed by strangers. I, God, have said so.

Another Tyrus song

¹¹ Then the word of God came to me again, and said,

¹² Sing this lamentation to the king of Tyrus,

¹³ You lived in Eden, which is God's garden.

¹⁴ You're an anointed cherub. I made you like that.

¹⁶ But now you've sinned, so I'll throw you off my mountain.

And I'll destroy you, you little cherub.

¹⁷ You were corrupted by your beauty and wisdom.

So I'll throw you to the ground and let kings look at you.

¹⁸ Then I’ll burn you to death.

¹⁹ You'll be a terror. No one will ever see you again.

Against Zidon

²⁰ Again the word of God came to me, saying,

²¹ Son of man, prophesy against Zidon, and say,

²² This is what God says,

I'm against you, Zidon.

²³ I'll send pestilence and blood into your streets. Dead and wounded people will be everywhere.

²⁴ And everyone will know that I'm God.

Against Egypt

29 ¹ The word of God came to me, saying,

² Son of man, prophesy against Egypt, saying,

³ I'm against you, Egypt, you big dragon.

⁴ I'll put fishhooks in your mouth.

⁵ I'll let the birds and beasts eat your dead body.

⁸ I'll kill all your people and animals with a sword.

¹⁶ And they'll know that I'm God.

I'll set a fire in Egypt

30 ¹ The word of God came to me again, saying

² Son of man, prophesy and say,

Howl and woe the day!

³ Because the day of the Lord is near. It'll be the time of the heathen.

^4-5 The sword will kill many people in Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, and Chub.

⁸ And when I set a fire in Egypt, they'll know that I'm God.

¹⁹ And they'll know that I'm God.

I'll break the Pharaoh's arms

²⁰ The word of God came to me and said,

²¹ Son of man, I've broken Pharaoh's arm, and it'll never heal.

²² So this is what I say,

I'm against the Pharaoh. I'll break his arms, including the one I already broke.

²⁴ He'll groan with pain.

²⁵ And everyone will know that I'm God,