Israel's Shedding of Blood

22 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “And you, (A)son of man, (B)will you judge, will you judge (C)the bloody city? (D)Then declare to her all her abominations. You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that (E)her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself! You have become guilty (F)by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought (G)your days near, the appointed time of[a] your years has come. (H)Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; (I)your name is defiled; (J)you are full of tumult.

“Behold, (K)the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. Father and mother (L)are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner (M)suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow (N)are wronged in you. (O)You have despised my holy things and (P)profaned my Sabbaths. (Q)There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you (R)who eat on the mountains; (S)they commit lewdness in your midst. 10 In you (T)men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. 11 (U)One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; (V)another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; (W)another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter. 12 In you (X)they take bribes to shed blood; (Y)you take interest and profit[b] and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but (Z)me you have forgotten, declares the Lord God.

13 “Behold, (AA)I strike my hand at (AB)the dishonest gain that you have made, and at (AC)the blood that has been in your midst. 14 (AD)Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? (AE)I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. 15 (AF)I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and (AG)I will consume your uncleanness out of you. 16 And (AH)you shall be profaned by your own doing (AI)in the sight of the nations, (AJ)and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

17 And the word of the Lord came to me: 18 (AK)“Son of man, the house of Israel has become (AL)dross to me; all of them are (AM)bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are (AN)dross of 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 one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, (AO)to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you (AP)in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. 21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. 22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; (AQ)I have poured out my wrath upon you.”

23 And the word of the Lord came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is (AR)not cleansed (AS)or rained upon in the day of indignation. 25 (AT)The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is (AU)like a roaring lion (AV)tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26 (AW)Her priests (AX)have done violence to my law and (AY)have profaned my holy things. (AZ)They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and (BA)they have disregarded my Sabbaths, (BB)so that I am profaned among them. 27 (BC)Her princes in her midst are like wolves (BD)tearing the prey, (BE)shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. 28 And (BF)her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, (BG)seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land (BH)have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and (BI)have extorted from the sojourner without justice. 30 (BJ)And I sought for a man among them (BK)who should build up the wall (BL)and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. 31 Therefore (BM)I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned (BN)their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 22:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts until
  2. Ezekiel 22:12 That is, profit that comes from charging interest to the poor (compare Leviticus 25:36)

22 Moreover the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,

Now, thou ben adam, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the ir hadamim (bloody city)? V’hoda’tah (thou shalt show, make to know, arraign) her all her to’avot (abominations).

Then say thou, Thus saith Adonoi Hashem, The Ir has shefach dahm in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh gillulim (idols) against herself to make herself tameh (unclean).

Thou art become guilty by thy shefach dahm; and hast made thyself tameh in thine gillulim (idols) which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy shanot (years); therefore have I made thee a cherpah unto the Goyim, and a kallasa (mockery, laughingstock) to all countries.

Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock at thee, which art tameh hashem (defiled, unclean of name, reputation) and much in turmoil.

Hinei, the nasi’im (rulers) of Yisroel, every one has used his zero’a (arm, power) for shefach dahm in thee.

In thee have they treated with contempt av and em in the midst of thee; they have dealt by oshek (oppression) with the ger (alien, proselyte); in thee have they mistreated the yatom and the almanah.

Thou hast despised Mine kadoshim, and hast profaned My Shabbatot.

In thee are anashim that slander to cause shefach dahm; and in thee are they who eat upon the harim; in the midst of thee they commit zimmah (lewdness).

10 In thee have they uncovered the ervat av (nakedness of their father, i.e., had incest with mother or stepmother), in thee have they raped her that had the teme’at haniddah (the uncleanness of the menstruation period).

11 And ish hath committed to’evah with his neighbor’s isha; and another hath lewdly made tameh his kallah (daughter-in-law); and another in thee hath raped his achot, his bat aviv.

12 In thee have they taken shochad (bribe) for shefach dahm; thou hast taken neshekh (usury) and tarbit (interest), and thou hast unjustly profited from thy neighbors by oshek (opression, extortion), and hast forgotten Me, saith Adonoi Hashem.

13 Hinei, therefore I have struck Mine palm at thy betza (dishonest gain) which thou hast made, and at thy bloodshed which hath been in the midst of thee.

14 Can thine lev stand firm, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I Hashem have spoken it, and will do it.

15 And I will scatter thee among the Goyim, and disperse thee throughout the countries, and will remove thy tum’a (uncleanness) out of thee.

16 And thou shalt defile thyself in the sight of the Goyim, and thou shalt know that I am Hashem.

17 And the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,

18 Ben adam, Bais Yisroel is to Me become sig (dross, smelting waste product); all they are nechoshet, and bedil (tin), and barzel (iron), and oferet (lead), in the midst of the kur (furnace); they are even the siggim (drosses) of kesef.

19 Therefore thus saith Adonoi Hashem; because ye are all become siggim, hineni, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Yerushalayim.

20 As they gather kesef, and nechoshet, and barzel (iron), and oferet (lead), and bedil (tin), into the midst of the kur (furnace), to blow the eish upon the ore to melt it down; so will I gather you in Mine af (anger) and in My chemah (wrath), and I will position you there, and melt you down.

21 Indeed, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the eish of My evrah (wrath), and ye shall be melted down in the midst therof.

22 As kesef is melted down in the midst of the kur (furnace), so shall ye be melted down in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I Hashem have poured out My chemah (wrath) upon you.

23 And the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,

24 Ben adam, say unto her, Thou art eretz that is not metoharah (cleansed), nor rained upon in the Yom Za’am (Day of Indignation).

25 There is a kesher of her nevi’im in the midst thereof, like a roaring ari (lion) tearing the prey; they have devoured nefesh; they have taken the khosen (treasure, wealth) and precious things; they have made her many almanot (widows) in the midst thereof.

26 Her kohanim have done violence to My torah, and have profaned Mine kadoshim; they have put no difference between the kodesh and chol (common, profane), neither have they made a distinction between the tameh and the tahor, and have hid their eynayim from My Shabbatot, and I am profaned among them.

27 Her sarim in the midst thereof are like ze’evim (wolves) tearing the prey, to do shefach dahm, and to destroy nefashot, to get betza (dishonest gain).

28 And her nevi’im have plastered them with [dissolving] mud plaster, seeing vain visions, and divining kazav (lies) unto them, saying, Thus saith Adonoi Hashem, when Hashem hath not spoken.

29 The am ha’aretz have used oshek (oppression, extortion) and commmitted gazel (robbery), and have mistreated the oni and evyon; indeed, they have treated the ger without mishpat (justice).

30 And I sought for an ish among them, that should repair the gader (fence), and stand in the peretz (gap, breach) before Me on behalf of ha’aretz, that it might not be destroyed; but I found none.

31 Therefore have I poured out Mine za’am (indignation, rage) upon them; I have consumed them with the eish of My evrah (wrath); their own derech have I brought back upon their rosh, saith Adonoi Hashem.