耶路撒冷的罪恶

22 耶和华对我说: “人子啊,你要审判耶路撒冷这杀人流血的城。你要审判她,使她知道自己一切可憎的行为。 你要向她宣告主耶和华的话,说,‘唉,你这杀人流血、制造偶像玷污自己的城啊,你的末日到了。 你既犯罪杀人、制造偶像玷污自己、自招审判,我要使你成为列国列邦侮辱和讥讽的对象。 你这声名狼藉、混乱不堪的城将要受到远近各国的耻笑。

“‘看啊,在你城中的以色列首领各逞权势,杀人流血。 他们轻慢父母,压迫寄居者,欺负孤儿寡妇。 他们藐视我的圣物,亵渎我的安息日。 在你这城中,有人好诽谤、杀人流血,有人在山上吃祭物,有人淫乱, 10 有人与继母通奸,羞辱父亲,有人奸污经期不洁的妇女, 11 有人与邻居的妻子干出可憎之事,有人玷污自己的儿媳妇,有人奸污自己的同父姊妹。 12 在你这城中,他们受贿杀人,放债取利,压榨邻居,早把我忘了。这是主耶和华说的。

13 “‘我见你谋财害命,就击掌叹息。 14 在我惩罚你的日子,你还有勇气和力量吗?我耶和华言出必行, 15 我要把你驱散到列国,分散到列邦,我要除掉你的污秽。 16 你必在列国面前受凌辱,你便知道我是耶和华。’”

17 耶和华对我说: 18 “人子啊,在我看来,以色列人已经变成了渣滓。他们是炉中的铜、锡、铁、铅,都是银渣滓。 19 所以主耶和华说,‘你们既是渣滓,我要把你们聚集在耶路撒冷城。 20 我要在烈怒中把你们聚集在城里熔化,就像人把银、铜、铁、铅、锡聚在高温的炉中熔化一样。 21 我要聚集你们,把我的怒火倒在你们身上,熔化你们。 22 你们要在城中熔化,就像银在炼炉中熔化。你们就知道我耶和华已将我的烈怒倾倒在你们身上。’”

23 耶和华对我说: 24 “人子啊,你要对以色列说,‘在我发怒的日子,将没有雨水滋润你这不洁之地。 25 你的首领图谋恶事,好像咆哮着撕碎猎物的狮子,他们草菅人命,抢夺财宝,使多人变成寡妇。 26 你的祭司强解我的律法,亵渎我的圣物。他们圣俗不分,也不教导人分辨洁净的和污秽的。他们藐视我的安息日,亵渎我。 27 你的首领好像撕碎猎物的豺狼,杀人流血,谋取不义之财。 28 你的先知对他们说虚假的异象和占卜,像用白灰刷墙一样掩盖他们的罪恶,说,耶和华这样说,其实耶和华没有说。 29 你的居民强取豪夺,欺压贫困的,虐待寄居的,无法无天。 30 我想在他们中间寻找一位重修城墙的人,站在我面前为这地方堵住缺口,免得我毁灭这里。可是,我一个也找不到。 31 因此,我要向他们倾倒我的烈怒,用怒火灭尽他们,照他们的所作所为报应他们。这是主耶和华说的。’”

Judgment on Jerusalem’s Sins

22 The word of the Lord came to me:

“Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed?(A) Then confront her with all her detestable practices(B) and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood(C) in her midst and defiles herself by making idols, you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed(D) and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come.(E) Therefore I will make you an object of scorn(F) to the nations and a laughingstock to all the countries.(G) Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, you infamous city, full of turmoil.(H)

“‘See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood.(I) In you they have treated father and mother with contempt;(J) in you they have oppressed the foreigner(K) and mistreated the fatherless and the widow.(L) You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.(M) In you are slanderers(N) who are bent on shedding blood;(O) in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines(P) and commit lewd acts.(Q) 10 In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed;(R) in you are those who violate women during their period,(S) when they are ceremonially unclean.(T) 11 In you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife,(U) another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law,(V) and another violates his sister,(W) his own father’s daughter.(X) 12 In you are people who accept bribes(Y) to shed blood; you take interest(Z) and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors.(AA) And you have forgotten(AB) me, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AC)

13 “‘I will surely strike my hands(AD) together at the unjust gain(AE) you have made and at the blood(AF) you have shed in your midst.(AG) 14 Will your courage endure(AH) or your hands(AI) be strong in the day I deal with you? I the Lord have spoken,(AJ) and I will do it.(AK) 15 I will disperse you among the nations and scatter(AL) you through the countries; and I will put an end to(AM) your uncleanness.(AN) 16 When you have been defiled[a] in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.’”

17 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, the people of Israel have become dross(AO) to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace.(AP) They are but the dross of silver.(AQ) 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have all become dross,(AR) I will gather you into Jerusalem. 20 As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you.(AS) 21 I will gather you and I will blow(AT) on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her.(AU) 22 As silver is melted(AV) in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath(AW) on you.’”(AX)

23 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the day of wrath.’(AY) 25 There is a conspiracy(AZ) of her princes[b] within her like a roaring lion(BA) tearing its prey; they devour people,(BB) take treasures and precious things and make many widows(BC) within her. 26 Her priests do violence to my law(BD) and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common;(BE) they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean;(BF) and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned(BG) among them.(BH) 27 Her officials(BI) within her are like wolves(BJ) tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people(BK) to make unjust gain.(BL) 28 Her prophets whitewash(BM) these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations.(BN) They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’—when the Lord has not spoken.(BO) 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery;(BP) they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner,(BQ) denying them justice.(BR)

30 “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall(BS) and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.(BT) 31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger,(BU) bringing down(BV) on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BW)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 22:16 Or When I have allotted you your inheritance
  2. Ezekiel 22:25 Septuagint; Hebrew prophets

Judgment on the Bloody City for Her Abominations

22 The word of the Lord came to me.

You, son of man, will you put them on trial,[a] will you put the bloody city on trial? Then list for her all her abominations. Say that this is what the Lord God says.

O city, you shed blood in your midst, and you bring on your time of judgment. You manufacture idols throughout the city, and so you defile yourself. Because of the blood you have shed, you have become guilty, and because of the filthy idols you have made, you have become defiled. You have brought near your final days. You have arrived at the end of your years. Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and subjected you to ridicule among all the countries. Those nearby and those far away from you will ridicule you, who are notorious for impurity and full of turmoil.

Look at the rulers of Israel. Each one among you uses his power to shed blood. In your midst, people have dishonored their fathers and mothers. They have exploited the alien in your midst. They have mistreated the fatherless children and the widows among you. You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. Slanderers are present among you to shed blood. In you there are people who eat on the mountains and commit obscene acts in your midst. 10 In your midst, a man uncovers the nakedness of his mother, who is reserved for his father, and men force themselves on a woman who is unclean during her period. 11 In your midst, a man commits an abomination with a neighbor’s wife. Another man obscenely defiles a daughter-in-law. Another forces himself on his sister, his father’s daughter. 12 In your midst, they take bribes to shed blood. You deduct a fee from the money you lend to people, and you demand that they repay more than you lent them. In this way you exploit your neighbor by extortion. And you have forgotten me, declares the Lord God.

13 Therefore, I clap my hands[b] against the dishonest profit you have made and over the bloodshed in your midst. 14 Will your courage endure? Will your hands remain strong in the days when I deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will accomplish it. 15 I will scatter you among the nations. I will disperse you throughout the countries and remove your uncleanness from you. 16 After you have been defiled in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.

17 The word of the Lord came to me.

18 Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside a furnace. They have become the slag from silver. 19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you have all become slag, I am about to gather you inside Jerusalem. 20 As silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are placed inside a furnace to blast them with fire and to melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and my wrath. I will throw you into the furnace and melt you. 21 I will gather you and blast you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in the midst of it. 22 As silver is melted inside a furnace, in the same way you will be melted inside the city. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my wrath upon you.

23 The word of the Lord came to me.

24 Son of man, say to her, “You are a land not cleansed, a land that receives no rain in the day of rage.”

25 Jerusalem’s princes[c] within her are like a roaring lion, tearing its prey. They devour people’s lives. They seize treasures and valuables. They make many women widows within her.

26 Her priests do violence to my law by profaning what is holy to me, by not distinguishing between the holy and the common, and by not teaching the difference between the unclean and the clean. They disregard my Sabbaths, with the result that I am profaned among them.

27 Her officials inside her are like wolves, tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives in order to make dishonest profits.

28 Her prophets daub whitewash for them, seeing empty visions and forecasting false omens for them. They say, “This is what the Lord God says,” when the Lord has not spoken at all.

29 The ordinary citizens practice extortion and commit robbery. They oppress the poor and the needy. They unjustly deprive the alien of his due. 30 I looked for someone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy her, but I found no one. 31 Therefore, I will pour out my rage upon them. In the fire of my fury, I will make an end of them. I will bring down their conduct on their own heads, declares the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 22:2 Or pronounce judgment on them
  2. Ezekiel 22:13 Apparently a gesture of disapproval
  3. Ezekiel 22:25 Princes is the reading of the Greek. The Hebrew reads prophets. See verse 28.

22 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.

Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord God, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself.

Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries.

Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.

Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.

In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.

Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.

In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness.

10 In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.

11 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

12 In 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.

13 Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.

14 Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it.

15 And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.

16 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.

17 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.

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

20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.

21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst therof.

22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you.

23 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.

25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken.

29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.

30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.

Sins of Jerusalem

22 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Now, son of man, (A)will you judge, will you judge (B)the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! Then say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The city sheds (C)blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. You have become guilty by the blood which you have (D)shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; (E)therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries. Those near and those far from you will mock you as [a]infamous and full of tumult.

“Look, (F)the princes of Israel: each one has used his [b]power to shed blood in you. In you they have (G)made light of father and mother; in your midst they have (H)oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the [c]fatherless and the widow. You have despised My holy things and (I)profaned My Sabbaths. In you are (J)men who slander to cause bloodshed; (K)in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness. 10 In you men (L)uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are (M)set apart during their impurity. 11 One commits abomination (N)with his neighbor’s wife; (O)another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father’s (P)daughter. 12 In you (Q)they take bribes to shed blood; (R)you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and (S)have forgotten Me,” says the Lord God.

13 “Behold, therefore, I (T)beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. 14 (U)Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? (V)I, the Lord, have spoken, and will do it. 15 (W)I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and (X)remove your filthiness completely from you. 16 You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then (Y)you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Israel in the Furnace

17 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, (Z)the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a (AA)furnace; they have become dross from silver. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to (AB)melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. 21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. 22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have (AC)poured out My fury on you.’ ”

Israel’s Wicked Leaders

23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is (AD)not [d]cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25 (AE)The conspiracy of her [e]prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they (AF)have devoured [f]people; (AG)they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26 (AH)Her priests have [g]violated My law and (AI)profaned My holy things; they have not (AJ)distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her (AK)princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy [h]people, and to get dishonest gain. 28 (AL)Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, (AM)seeing false visions, and divining (AN)lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken. 29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully (AO)oppress the stranger. 30 (AP)So I sought for a man among them who would (AQ)make a wall, and (AR)stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. 31 Therefore I have (AS)poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed (AT)their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 22:5 Lit. defiled of name
  2. Ezekiel 22:6 Lit. arm
  3. Ezekiel 22:7 Lit. orphan
  4. Ezekiel 22:24 So with MT, Syr., Vg.; LXX showered upon
  5. Ezekiel 22:25 So with MT, Vg.; LXX princes; Tg. scribes
  6. Ezekiel 22:25 Lit. souls
  7. Ezekiel 22:26 Lit. done violence to
  8. Ezekiel 22:27 Lit. souls