Ezekiel 22
Christian Standard Bible
Indictment of Sinful Jerusalem
22 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “As for you, son of man, will you pass judgment? Will you pass judgment against the city of blood? Then explain all her detestable practices to her.(A) 3 You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: A city that sheds blood(B) within her walls so that her time of judgment has come and who makes idols for herself so that she is defiled! 4 You are guilty of the blood you have shed,(C) and you are defiled from the idols you have made. You have brought your judgment[a] days near and have come to your years of punishment.[b] Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all the lands. 5 Those who are near and those far away from you will mock you, you infamous one full of turmoil.
6 “‘Look, every prince of Israel(D) within you has used his strength to shed blood. 7 Father and mother are treated with contempt,(E) and the resident alien is exploited within you. The fatherless and widow are oppressed in you.(F) 8 You despise my holy things and profane my Sabbaths.(G) 9 There are men within you who slander in order to shed blood.(H) People who live in you eat at the mountain shrines;[c] they commit depraved acts within you. 10 Men within you have sexual intercourse with their father’s wife and violate women during their menstrual impurity.(I) 11 One man within you commits a detestable act with his neighbor’s wife;(J) another defiles his daughter-in-law with depravity; and yet another violates his sister, his father’s daughter.(K) 12 People who live in you accept bribes in order to shed blood.(L) You take interest and profit on a loan and brutally extort your neighbors.(M) You have forgotten me.(N) This is the declaration of the Lord God.
13 “‘Now look, I clap my hands together against the dishonest profit you have made(O) and against the blood shed among you. 14 Will your courage endure(P) or your hands be strong in the days when I deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will act.(Q) 15 I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you among the countries;(R) I will purge your uncleanness.(S) 16 You[d] will be profaned in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”(T)
Jerusalem as God’s Furnace
17 The word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become merely dross to me.(U) All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace;(V) they are just dross from silver. 19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because all of you have become dross, I am about to gather you into Jerusalem. 20 Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to blow fire(W) on them and melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and wrath, put you inside, and melt you. 21 Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted within the city. 22 As silver is melted inside a furnace, so you will be melted inside the city. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my wrath on you.”(X)
Indictment of a Sinful Land
23 The word of the Lord came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed,(Y) that has not received rain in the day of indignation.’ 25 The conspiracy of her prophets(Z) within her is[e] like a roaring lion tearing its prey: they devour people, seize wealth and valuables, and multiply the widows within her. 26 Her priests do violence to my instruction and profane my holy things.(AA) They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they do not explain the difference between the clean and the unclean.(AB) They close their eyes to my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
27 “Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives in order to make profit dishonestly. 28 Her prophets plaster for them with whitewash by seeing false visions and lying divinations,(AC) saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery.(AD) They have oppressed the poor and needy and unlawfully exploited the resident alien. 30 I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall(AE) and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it,(AF) but I found no one. 31 So I have poured out my indignation on them and consumed them with the fire of my fury. I have brought their conduct down on their own heads.”(AG) This is the declaration of the Lord God.
Ezekiel 22
International Standard Version
A Prophecy against Jerusalem
22 This message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Now, Son of Man, will you truly judge that blood-stained city? Then make her aware of all of her detestable practices.
3 “You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “The city keeps on shedding blood within her, hastening her time to be judged. She crafts idols that defile her.
4 “‘“You’re guilty because of the blood that you’ve shed. You were defiled by the idols that you’ve made. You’ve caused your judgment day to draw near and have even come to the end of[a] your life. Therefore, I’ve made you an object of derision among the nations and to other[b] lands. 5 Those who are both near and far away from you will scoff at you, because your reputation will be infamous and full of turmoil.
6 “‘“Watch out! Each of the princes of Israel has misused his authority to shed blood. 7 They’ve treated mothers and fathers among you with contempt. They’ve oppressed the foreigner among you. They’ve maltreated the orphan and the widow among you.
8 “‘“You have despised my sacred things and profaned my Sabbaths. 9 Slanderous men live among you, intent on shedding blood. They’ve eaten at the top of mountain shrines. They’ve crafted plans to do evil things among you. 10 They’ve revealed the nakedness of their father in your midst. They’ve humiliated those among you who were unclean due to their impurity. 11 One of you commits detestable practices with his neighbor’s wife. Another sexually defiles his daughter-in-law. Another humiliates his sister, his own father’s daughter. 12 They take bribes among you to shed blood. You’ve taken usury and exacted interest. You’ve gained control over your neighbor through extortion. And you’ve forgotten me,” declares the Lord God.
13 “Watch out! I’m vehemently angry about[c] the unjust gains that you’ve earned, and about the blood that has been shed among you. 14 Can your heart stand up to this? Can your hands remain strong when I deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken and will fulfill this. 15 I’m going to disperse you among the nations and scatter you to other lands. I’m going to put an end to your uncleanness. 16 When you’ve been defiled in the sight of the nations, then you’ll know that I am the Lord.”’”
God’s Purging Fire
17 This message came to me from the Lord: 18 “Son of Man, Israel has become like dross to me. All of them are like remnants of bronze, tin, iron, and lead in a furnace—the dross left over from smelting silver. 19 Therefore this is what the Lord God says, ‘Because all of you have become dross, watch out! I’m going to gather all of you at the center of Jerusalem, 20 just like a smelter gathers all the silver, bronze, lead, and tin to the center of a furnace and injects fire in order to melt it, I’m going to gather you in my anger and rage, make you settle down—and then I’m going to melt you down. 21 Indeed, I’m going to gather you together and exhale the fire of my fury, and then you’ll be melted from the inside out 22 like melting silver at the center of a furnace. When you’ve been melted from the center out, then you’ll know that I am the Lord. I’ll pour out my anger on you.’”
God Rebukes Prophets and Priests
23 This message came to me from the Lord: 24 “Son of Man, tell her,[d] ‘You’re a land that hasn’t been purified, one that hasn’t been rained on in the day of indignation. 25 There’s a conspiracy of prophets within her, and like a roaring lion tearing its prey, they’ve devoured people, and confiscated treasures, and taken precious things. They’ve added to the population of widows within her. 26 Her priests have violated my Law and profaned my sacred things. They didn’t differentiate between what’s sacred and what’s common. They didn’t instruct others to discern clean from unclean things. They refused to keep[e] my Sabbaths.
“‘I’m constantly being profaned among them. 27 Her princes within her are like wolves tearing their prey apart. They shed blood, destroying souls, and make unjust gain.
28 “‘Her prophets whitewashed all of these things through false visions and lying divinations. They kept on saying, “This is what the Lord God says…”, when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land were vigorously oppressive and took possession of plunder by violence. They’ve afflicted the poor and the needy and unjustly treated the foreigner. 30 I sought for a man among them to build the wall and stand in the breach in my presence on behalf of the land so that it won’t be destroyed, but I found no one, 31 so I poured my indignation over them. With my fierce anger, I’ve consumed them. I brought the consequences of[f] their behavior upon them,’[g] declares the Lord God.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 22:4 The Heb. lacks the end of
- Ezekiel 22:4 The Heb. lacks other
- Ezekiel 22:13 Lit. I’m going to strike my hands
- Ezekiel 22:24 I.e. Israel personified as a woman
- Ezekiel 22:26 Lit. refused their eyes from
- Ezekiel 22:31 The Heb. lacks the consequences of
- Ezekiel 22:31 Lit. upon their heads
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