Sins of Jerusalem

22 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Now, son of man, ^(A)will you judge, will you judge ^(B)the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! ³ 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. ⁴ 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. ⁵ Those near and those far from you will mock you as ^[a]infamous and full of tumult.

⁶ “Look, ^(F)the princes of Israel: each one has used his ^[b]power to shed blood in you. ⁷ 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. ⁸ You have despised My holy things and ^(I)profaned My Sabbaths. ⁹ 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.