Tell this rebellious people a parable and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

Put on the 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!

— Ezekiel 24:3-6 (NIV)

Ezekiel delivered this parable on the day Nebuchadnezzar began his siege of Jerusalem. The pot represents Jerusalem, and its contents symbolize the people facing judgment for their corruption and violence.

corruption

Parable of the Boiling Pot