Ezekiel 11:3

11:3 They say, ¹  ‘The time is not near to build houses; ²  the city ³  is a cooking pot ⁴  and we are the meat in it.’

Ezekiel 11:7

11:7 Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The corpses you have dumped ⁵  in the midst of the city ⁶  are the meat, and this city ⁷  is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it. ⁸ 

Ezekiel 24:3-14

24:3 Recite a proverb to this rebellious house ⁹  and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Set on the pot, ¹⁰  set it on,

pour water in it too;

24:4 add the pieces of meat to it,

every good piece,

the thigh and the shoulder;

fill it with choice bones.

24:5 Take the choice bone of the flock,

heap up bones under it;

boil rapidly,

and boil its bones in it.

24:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:

Woe to the city of bloodshed,

the pot whose rot ¹¹  is in it,

whose rot has not been removed ¹²  from it!

Empty it piece by piece.

No lot has fallen on it. ¹³ 

24:7 For her blood was in it;

she poured it on an exposed rock;

she did not pour it on the ground to cover it up with dust.

24:8 To arouse anger, to take vengeance,

I have placed her blood on an exposed rock so that it cannot be covered up.

24:9 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:

Woe to the city of bloodshed!

I will also make the pile high.

24:10 Pile up the bones, kindle the fire;

cook the meat well, mix in the spices,

let the bones be charred.

24:11 Set the empty pot on the coals, ¹⁴ 

until it becomes hot and its copper glows,

until its uncleanness melts within it and its rot ¹⁵  is consumed.

24:12 It has tried my patience; ¹⁶ 

yet its thick rot is not removed ¹⁷  from it.

Subject its rot to the fire! ¹⁸ 

24:13 You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. ¹⁹ 

I tried to cleanse you, ²⁰  but you are not clean.

You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness ²¹ 

until I have exhausted my anger on you.

24:14 “‘I the Lord have spoken; judgment ²²  is coming and I will act! I will not relent, or show pity, or be sorry! ²³  I will judge you ²⁴  according to your conduct ²⁵  and your deeds, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

[11:3]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb may mean “think” in this context. This content of what they say (or think) represents their point of view.

[11:3]  ² sn The expression build houses may mean “establish families” (Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; Prov 24:27).

[11:3]  ³ tn Heb “she” or “it”; the feminine pronoun refers here to Jerusalem.

[11:3]  ⁴ sn Jerusalem is also compared to a pot in Ezek 24:3-8. The siege of the city is pictured as heating up the pot.

[11:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “placed.”

[11:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “in its midst.”

[11:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “she/it.” See v. 3.

[11:7]  ⁸ tc Many of the versions read “I will bring you out” (active) rather than “he brought out” (the reading of MT).

[24:3]  ⁹ sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).

[24:3]  ¹⁰ sn See Ezek 11:3-12.

[24:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “rust.”

[24:6]  ¹² tn Heb “has not gone out.”

[24:6]  ¹³ tn Here “lot” may refer to the decision made by casting lots; it is not chosen at all.

[24:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “set it upon its coals, empty.”

[24:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “rust” (so also in v. 12).

[24:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “(with) toil she has wearied.” The meaning of the statement is unclear in the Hebrew text; some follow the LXX and delete it. The first word in the statement (rendered “toil” in the literal translation above) occurs only here in the OT, and the verb “she has wearied” lacks a stated object. Elsewhere the Hiphil of the verb refers to wearying someone or trying someone’s patience. The feminine subject is apparently the symbolic pot.

[24:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “does not go out.”

[24:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in fire its rust.” The meaning of the expression is unclear. The translation understands the statement as a command to burn the rust away. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:768.

[24:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in your uncleanness (is) obscene conduct.”

[24:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “because I cleansed you.” In this context (see especially the very next statement), the statement must refer to divine intention and purpose. Despite God’s efforts to cleanse his people, they resisted him and remained morally impure.

[24:13]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew text adds the word “again.”

[24:14]  ²² tn Heb “it”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:14]  ²³ tn Or perhaps, “change my mind.”

[24:14]  ²⁴ tc Some medieval Hebrew mss and the major ancient versions read a first person verb here. Most Hebrew mss read have an indefinite subject, “they will judge you,” which could be translated, “you will be judged.”

[24:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “ways.”