Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?

Which say, {It is} not near; let us build houses: this {city is} the caldron, and we {be} the flesh. {It is...: or, It is not for us to build houses near}

Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns {be} with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they {be} a rebellious house. {briers...: or, rebels}

And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, {even} unto this very day. {nation: Heb. nations}

But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:

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.

That this {is} a rebellious people, lying children, children {that} will not hear the law of the LORD:

Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:

But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, {and} he fought against them.

Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they {are} a rebellious house.

And say, What {is} thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.

As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they {be} a rebellious house.

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they {are} the flesh, and this {city is} the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.

In that day shall {one} take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, {and} say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed {it} from me! turning away he hath divided our fields. {a doleful...: Heb. a lamentation of lamentations} {turning...: or, instead of restoring}

Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

For I {am} the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.

This {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:

And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof {is} toward the north. {toward...: Heb. from the face of the north}

Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these {things mean}? tell {them}, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers {did}, so {do} ye.

And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they {are} the flesh, and this {city is} the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.

Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they {are} a rebellious house.

Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, {saith...: or, hath the LORD said}

And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and {there was} a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets {were} sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

Which say, {It is} not near; let us build houses: this {city is} the caldron, and we {be} the flesh. {It is...: or, It is not for us to build houses near}

And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof {is} toward the north. {toward...: Heb. from the face of the north}

I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: {there shall be} no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and {the things that} I have given them shall pass away from them.

Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel.