Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the bloody city, to the cauldron whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! take out of it piece after piece; No lot is fallen on it.
- BSB Therefore 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.
- NKJV ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the bloody city, To the pot whose scum is in it, And whose scum is not gone from it! Bring it out piece by piece, On which no lot has fallen.
- NASB ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Woe to the bloody city, To the pot in which there is rust And whose rust has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, Without making a choice.
- NLT “Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits Jerusalem, the city of murderers! She is a cooking pot whose corruption can’t be cleaned out. Take the meat out in random order, for no piece is better than another.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God pronounces woe on the 'bloody city' whose rust, her ingrained guilt, will not come off. It identifies Jerusalem's deep, unremoved corruption.
Overview
The 'rust' on the pot symbolizes Jerusalem's encrusted sin, especially bloodshed, that ordinary measures could not cleanse. The command to empty it 'piece after piece' with no lot cast pictures an indiscriminate, complete removal of the people in judgment. The image makes clear that the city's defilement is not superficial but deeply set, requiring drastic cleansing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 27
- Ezek 22:2Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.
- Nah 3:1Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
- 2 Kgs 24:4And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.
- Nah 3:10Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.
- Obad 1:11In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
- Mic 7:2The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
- Ezek 22:27Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
- Rev 17:6And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
- Ezek 23:37–45That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.
- Ezek 11:11This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel:
- Ezek 11:6–9Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.
- Jer 6:29The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
- Ezek 24:11–13Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.
- 1 Sam 14:40–42Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee.
- 2 Sam 8:2And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.
- Josh 7:16–18So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:
- Ezek 9:5–6And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
- 2 Kgs 21:16Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Ezek 24:9Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.
- Josh 10:22Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.
- Ezek 22:12In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.
- Rev 18:24And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
- Joel 3:3And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
- Matt 23:35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
- Rev 11:7–8And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
- Ezek 22:6–9Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.
- Jonah 1:7And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
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How Ezekiel 24:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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