Study Desk

Tell this rebellious house a parable and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'Put on the cooking pot; put it on and pour water into it.

Put into it the pieces of meat, all the choice pieces-the leg and the shoulder. Fill it with the best of these bones;

take the pick of the flock. Pile wood beneath it for the bones; bring it to a boil and cook the bones in it.

" 'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot now encrusted, whose deposit will not go away! Empty it piece by piece without casting lots for them.

" 'For the blood she shed is in her midst: She poured it on the bare rock; she did not pour it on the ground, where the dust would cover it.

To stir up wrath and take revenge I put her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered.

" 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'Woe to the city of bloodshed! I, too, will pile the wood high.

So heap on the wood and kindle the fire. Cook the meat well, mixing in the spices; and let the bones be charred.

Then set the empty pot on the coals till it becomes hot and its copper glows so its impurities may be melted and its deposit burned away.

It has frustrated all efforts; its heavy deposit has not been removed, not even by fire.

" 'Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided.

" 'I the LORD have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent. You will be judged according to your conduct and your actions, declares the Sovereign LORD .' "