² Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ^[a]God says: “Do you yourselves come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares the Lord God, “^(A)I certainly will not be inquired of by you.”’ ⁴ Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? ^(B)Make known to them the abominations of their fathers; ⁵ and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On the day when I ^(C)chose Israel and ^[b]swore to the ^[c]descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I ^[d]swore to them, saying, ^(D)I am the Lord your God, ⁶ on that day I swore to them, ^(E)to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had ^[e]selected for them, ^(F)flowing with milk and honey, which is ^(G)the glory of all the lands. ⁷ And I said to them, ‘^(H)Throw away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and ^(I)do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; ^(J)I am the Lord your God.’ ⁸ But they ^(K)rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not throw away, each of them, the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they abandon the ^(L)idols of Egypt.

“Then I ^[f]resolved to ^(M)pour out My wrath on them, to ^[g]use up My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. ⁹ But I acted ^(N)for the sake of My name, that it would ^(O)not be defiled in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the ^(P)wilderness. ¹¹ I gave them My ^(Q)statutes and informed them of My ordinances, ^(R)which, if ^[h]a person ^[i]follows them, then he will live by them. ¹² Also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a ^(S)sign between Me and them, so that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. ¹³ But the house of Israel ^(T)rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, ^(U)which, if ^[j]a person ^[k]follows them, then he will live by them; and they greatly profaned My ^(V)Sabbaths. Then I ^[l]resolved to ^(W)pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them. ¹⁴ But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had brought them out. ¹⁵ Also ^(X)I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands, ¹⁶ because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they also profaned My Sabbaths, because their ^(Y)heart continually followed their idols. ¹⁷ Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not bring about their ^(Z)annihilation in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “Instead, I said to their ^[m](AA)children in the wilderness, ‘^(AB)Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. ^19 (AC)I am the Lord your God; ^(AD)walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and ^[n]follow them. ^20 (AE)Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’

The Sins of Israel

22 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then inform her of all her abominations. ³ And you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[a]God says: “A city ^(A)shedding blood in her midst, so that her time is coming; and a city that makes idols, contrary to her own good, for defilement! ⁴ You have become ^(B)guilty by ^[b]the blood which you have shed, and you have become defiled by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your days closer and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a ^(C)disgrace to the nations, and an object of mocking to all the lands. ⁵ Those who are near and those who are far from you will make fun of you, you of ill repute, full of ^(D)turmoil.

⁶ “Behold, the ^(E)rulers of Israel, each according to his ^[c]power, have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood. ⁷ They have ^(F)treated father and mother with contempt among you. They have oppressed the ^(G)stranger in your midst; they have oppressed the ^(H)orphan and the widow among you. ⁸ You have ^(I)despised My holy things and ^(J)profaned My Sabbaths. ⁹ Slanderous men have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood, and among you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have ^(K)committed outrageous sin. ¹⁰ Among you ^[d]they have ^(L)uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; among you they have abused her who was ^(M)unclean in her menstruation. ¹¹ And one has committed abomination with his ^(N)neighbor’s wife, another has outrageously defiled his ^(O)daughter-in-law, and another among you has sexually ^(P)abused his sister, his father’s daughter. ¹² Among you they have ^(Q)taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken ^[e](R)interest, you have injured your neighbors by ^(S)oppression, and you have ^(T)forgotten Me,” declares the Lord God.

¹³ “Behold, then, I strike with My hand your ^(U)profit which you have made and ^[f]the bloodshed which is among you. ¹⁴ Can ^(V)your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days that I will deal with you? ^(W)I, the Lord, have spoken and will act. ¹⁵ And I will ^(X)scatter you among the nations and disperse you among the lands, and I will ^(Y)eliminate your uncleanness from you. ¹⁶ Then you will defile yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will ^(Z)know that I am the Lord.”’”

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, the house of Israel has become ^[g](AA)waste metal to Me; all of them are ^(AB)bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the ^(AC)smelting furnace; they are the ^[h]waste metal of silver. ¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because all of you have become ^[i]waste metal, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.