9. So the Lord and King said to me, "How terrible it will be for this city! It has so many murderers in it. I too will pile the wood high.
10. So pile on the wood. Light the fire. Cook the meat well. Mix in the spices. Let the bones be blackened.
11. Then set the empty pot on the coals. Let it get hot. Let its copper glow. Then what is not pure in it will melt. Its scum will be burned away.
12. But it can't be cleaned up. Its thick scum has not been removed. Even fire can't burn it off.
13. "Jerusalem, you are really impure. I tried to clean you up. But you would not let me make you pure. So you will not be clean again until my burning anger against you has calmed down.
14. "I have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back. I will not feel sorry for you. I will do what I said I would do. You will be judged for your conduct and actions. I am the Lord," announces the Lord and King.
15. A message came to me from the Lord. He said,
16. "Son of man, I will take away from you the wife you delight in. It will happen very soon. But do not sing songs of sadness. Do not let any tears flow from your eyes.
17. Groan quietly. Do not sob out loud over your wife when she dies. Keep your turban on your head. Keep your sandals on your feet. Do not cover the lower part of your face. Do not eat the food people eat to comfort them when someone dies."
18. So I spoke to my people in the morning. And in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did what I had been commanded to do.
19. Then the people said to me, "Tell us what these things have to do with us."
20. So I told them. I said, "A message came to me from the Lord. He said,
21. 'Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, "The Lord and King says, 'I am about to pollute my temple. I will let the Babylonians burn it down. It is the beautiful building you are so proud of. You take delight in it. You love it. The sons and daughters you left behind will be killed with swords.