Ezekiel 22
New American Standard Bible
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. 20 As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the (AD)smelting furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will place you there and melt you. 21 And I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it. 22 As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the Lord, have (AE)poured out My wrath on you.’”
23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 24 “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is (AF)not clean or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25 There is a (AG)conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have (AH)devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many (AI)widows in the midst of her. 26 Her (AJ)priests have done violence to My Law and have (AK)profaned My holy things; they have made no (AL)distinction between the holy and the [j]common, and they have not taught the difference between the (AM)unclean and the clean; and they have closed their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am defiled among them. 27 Her leaders within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and (AN)destroying lives in order to make (AO)dishonest profit. 28 And her prophets have coated with whitewash for them, seeing (AP)false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced (AQ)extortion and committed robbery, and they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have (AR)oppressed the stranger without justice. 30 I (AS)searched for a man among them who would (AT)build up a wall and (AU)stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found [k]no one. 31 So I have poured out My (AV)indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; I have brought (AW)their way upon their heads,” declares the Lord God.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 22:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 22:4 Lit your
- Ezekiel 22:6 Lit arm
- Ezekiel 22:10 Lit he has
- Ezekiel 22:12 Possibly interest on money and food loans
- Ezekiel 22:13 Lit your
- Ezekiel 22:18 Lit dross
- Ezekiel 22:18 Lit dross
- Ezekiel 22:19 Lit dross
- Ezekiel 22:26 Lit profane
- Ezekiel 22:30 Lit not
Ezekiel 22
New Living Translation
The Sins of Jerusalem
22 Now this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Publicly denounce her detestable sins, 3 and give her this message from the Sovereign Lord: O city of murderers, doomed and damned—city of idols,[a] filthy and foul— 4 you are guilty because of the blood you have shed. You are defiled because of the idols you have made. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world. 5 O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people far and near.
6 “Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder. 7 Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you. 8 You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest. 9 People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things. 10 Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and force themselves on women who are menstruating. 11 Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters-in-law, or who rape their own sisters. 12 There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign Lord.
13 “But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed. 14 How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I said. 15 I will scatter you among the nations and purge you of your wickedness. 16 And when I have been dishonored among the nations because of you,[b] you will know that I am the Lord.”
The Lord’s Refining Furnace
17 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 18 “Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over—a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead. 19 So tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem. 20 Just as silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are melted down in a furnace, I will melt you down in the heat of my fury. 21 I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you, 22 and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my fury on you.’”
The Sins of Israel’s Leaders
23 Again a message came to me from the Lord: 24 “Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: In the day of my indignation, you will be like a polluted land, a land without rain. 25 Your princes[c] plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They make many widows in the land. 26 Your priests have violated my instructions and defiled my holy things. They make no distinction between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that I am dishonored among them. 27 Your leaders are like wolves who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money! 28 And your prophets cover up for them by announcing false visions and making lying predictions. They say, ‘My message is from the Sovereign Lord,’ when the Lord hasn’t spoken a single word to them. 29 Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice.
30 “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one. 31 So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
