16 “Son of man, you love your wife very much, but I am going to take her away from you. Your wife will die suddenly, but you must not show your sadness. You must not cry loudly. You will cry and your tears will fall,
17 but you must mourn quietly. Dress as you normally do; wear your turban and sandals; don’t cover your mustache, and don’t eat the food people normally eat when someone dies.”
18 The next morning I told the people what God had said. That evening, my wife died. The next morning I did what God commanded.
19 Then the people said to me, “Why are you doing this? What does it mean?”
20 Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me. He told me
21 to speak to the family of Israel. The Lord GOD said, ‘Look, I will destroy my holy place. You are proud of that place and sing songs of praise about it. You love to see it. You really love that place. But I will destroy it, and your children that you left behind will be killed in battle.
22 But you will do the same things that I have done about my dead wife. You will not cover your mustache or eat the food people normally eat when someone dies.