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!”
Ezekiel 22
Legacy Standard Bible
The Abominations of Israel
22 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 “Now as for you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the city of blood? Then you shall cause her to know all her abominations. 3 And you shall say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “A city (A)shedding blood in her midst, so that her time will come; and she makes idols against herself for defilement! 4 You have become (B)guilty by [a]the blood which you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made. Thus you have brought your [b]day near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a (C)reproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands. 5 Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you of unclean name, full of (D)turmoil.
6 “Behold, the (E)princes of Israel, each according to his [c]power, have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood. 7 They have (F)treated father and mother with contempt within you. The (G)sojourner they have oppressed in your midst; the (H)fatherless and the widow they have mistreated in you. 8 You have (I)despised My holy things and (J)profaned My sabbaths. 9 Slanderous men have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood, and in you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have (K)done acts of lewdness. 10 In you [d]they have (L)uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; in you they have humbled her who was (M)unclean in her menstrual impurity. 11 One has also done what is an abomination with his (N)neighbor’s wife, and another has lewdly defiled his (O)daughter-in-law. And another in you has (P)violated his sister, his father’s daughter. 12 In you they have (Q)taken bribes for the purpose of shedding blood; you have taken (R)interest and profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by (S)oppression, and you have (T)forgotten Me,” declares Lord Yahweh.
13 “Now behold, I have struck My hand at your (U)greedy gain which you have acquired and at [e]the bloodshed which is among you. 14 Can (V)your heart stand, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will act against you? (W)I, Yahweh, have spoken and will act. 15 I will (X)scatter you among the nations, and I will disperse you through the lands, and I will (Y)put an end to your uncleanness from you. 16 You will profane yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will (Z)know that I am Yahweh.”’”
17 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become (AA)dross to Me; all of them are (AB)bronze and tin and iron and lead in the (AC)furnace; they are the dross of silver. 19 Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Because all of you have become dross, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the (AD)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 lay you there and melt you. 21 And I will collect you together and blow on you with the fire of My fury, 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, Yahweh, have (AE)poured out My wrath on you.’”
23 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 24 “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is (AF)not cleansed 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)separation between the holy and the profane, and they have not made known the difference between the (AM)unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey by shedding blood and (AN)destroying lives in order to get (AO)greedy gain. 28 And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, beholding (AP)worthless visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh,’ when Yahweh has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced (AQ)oppression and committed robbery, and they have mistreated the afflicted and needy and have (AR)oppressed the sojourner without justice. 30 And I (AS)searched for a man among them who would (AT)build up the wall and (AU)stand in the breach before Me for the land, so that I would not bring it to ruin; but I found [f]no one. 31 Thus I have poured out My (AV)indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My fury; (AW)their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares Lord Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 22:4 Lit your
- Ezekiel 22:4 Lit days
- Ezekiel 22:6 Lit arm
- Ezekiel 22:10 Lit he has
- Ezekiel 22:13 Lit your
- Ezekiel 22:30 Lit not
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