² And the word of the Lord came to me: ^3 (A)“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? ^(B)As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(C)I will not be inquired of by you. ^4 (D)Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? ^(E)Let them know the abominations of their fathers, ⁵ and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(F)On the day when I chose Israel, ^(G)I swore^[a] to the offspring of the house of Jacob, ^(H)making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; ^(I)I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. ⁶ On that day I swore to them that ^(J)I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land ^(K)flowing with milk and honey, ^(L)the most glorious of all lands. ⁷ And I said to them, ^(M)‘Cast away the detestable things ^(N)your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with ^(O)the idols of Egypt; ^(P)I am the Lord your God.’ ^8 (Q)But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. ^(R)None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them ^(S)and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. ^9 (T)But I acted ^(U)for the sake of my name, ^(V)that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, ^(W)in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ^10 (X)So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. ^11 (Y)I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, ^(Z)by which, if a person does them, he shall live. ¹² Moreover, I gave them ^(AA)my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, ^(AB)that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. ^13 (AC)But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. ^(AD)They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; ^(AE)and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.

^(AF)“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. ¹⁴ But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, ^(AG)in whose sight I had brought them out. ¹⁵ Moreover, ^(AH)I swore to them in the wilderness ^(AI)that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land ^(AJ)flowing with milk and honey, ^(AK)the most glorious of all lands, ¹⁶ because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; ^(AL)for their heart went after their idols. ¹⁷ Nevertheless, ^(AM)my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or ^(AN)make a full end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “And I said to ^(AO)their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk ^(AP)in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, ^(AQ)nor defile yourselves with their idols. ^19 (AR)I am the Lord your God; ^(AS)walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, ²⁰ and ^(AT)keep my Sabbaths holy that ^(AU)they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’

Israel's Shedding of Blood

22 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “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. ³ 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! ⁴ 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. ⁵ 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.

⁶ “Behold, ^(K)the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. ⁷ 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. ^8 (O)You have despised my holy things and ^(P)profaned my Sabbaths. ^9 (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.