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Ezekiel 22
New English Translation

The Sins of Jerusalem

22 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment?[a] Are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city?[b] Then confront her with all her abominable deeds! 3 Then say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O city, who spills blood within herself (which brings on her doom),[c] and who makes herself idols (which results in impurity), 4 you are guilty because of the blood you shed and defiled by the idols you made. You have hastened the day of your doom;[d] the end of your years has come.[e] Therefore I will make[f] you an object of scorn to the nations, an object to be mocked by all lands. 5 Those both near and far from you will mock you, you with your bad reputation,[g] full of turmoil.

6 “‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood.[h] 7 They have treated father and mother with contempt[i] within you; they have oppressed the resident foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow[j] within you. 8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths! 9 Slanderous men shed blood within you.[k] Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains;[l] they commit obscene acts among you.[m] 10 They have sexual relations with their father’s wife within you;[n] they violate women during their menstrual period within you.[o] 11 One[p] commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates[q] his sister—his father’s daughter[r]—within you. 12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest;[s] you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me,[t] declares the Sovereign Lord.[u]

13 “‘See, I strike my hands together[v] at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed[w] they have done among you. 14 Can your heart endure,[x] or can your hands be strong when I deal with you?[y] I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it! 15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among various countries; I will remove your impurity from you.[z] 16 You will be profaned within yourself[aa] in the sight of the nations; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

17 The Lord’s message came to me: 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace;[ab] they are the worthless slag of silver. 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because all of you[ac] have become slag, look out! I am about to gather you in the middle of Jerusalem. 20 As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can blow on them to melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there[ad] and melt you. 21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in it. 22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger on you.’”

23 The Lord’s message came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that receives no rain[ae] or showers in the day of my anger.’[af] 25 Her princes[ag] within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows[ah] within it. 26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane,[ai] or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore[aj] my Sabbaths, and I am profaned in their midst. 27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey—shedding blood and destroying lives—so they can get dishonest profit. 28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash.[ak] They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the resident foreigner and denied them justice.[al]

30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.[am] 31 So I have poured my anger on them and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done,[an] declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 22:2 tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment upon the city. See 20:4.
  2. Ezekiel 22:2 tn The phrase “bloody city” is used of Nineveh in Nah 3:1.
  3. Ezekiel 22:3 tn Heb “her time”; this refers to the time of impending judgment (see the note on “doom” in v. 4).
  4. Ezekiel 22:4 tn Heb “you have brought near your days.” The expression “bring near your days” appears to be an adaptation of the idiom “days draw near,” which is used to indicate that an event, such as death, is imminent (see Gen 27:41; 47:29; Deut 31:14; 1 Kgs 2:1; Ezek 12:23). Here “your days” probably refer to the days of the personified city’s life, which was about to come to an end through God’s judgment.
  5. Ezekiel 22:4 tn Heb “and you have come to your years.” This appears to mean that she has arrived at the time when her years (i.e., life) would end, though it may mean that her years of punishment will begin. Because “day” and “time” are so closely associated in the immediate context (see 21:25, 29), some prefer to emend the text and read: “you have brought near your time.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:31, as well as the translator’s note on verse 3.
  6. Ezekiel 22:4 tn The Hebrew verb is a prophetic perfect, emphasizing that the action is as good as done from the speaker’s perspective.
  7. Ezekiel 22:5 tn Heb “unclean of name.”
  8. Ezekiel 22:6 tn Heb “Look! The princes of Israel, each according to his arm, were in you in order to shed blood.”
  9. Ezekiel 22:7 tn Heb “treated lightly, cursed.”
  10. Ezekiel 22:7 tn Widows and orphans are often coupled together in the OT (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19-21; 26:12-13; Jer 7:6; 22:3). They represented all who were poor and vulnerable to economic exploitation.
  11. Ezekiel 22:9 tn Heb “men of slander are in you in order to shed blood.”
  12. Ezekiel 22:9 tn Heb “and on the mountains they eat within you.” The mountains mentioned here were the site of pagan sacrifices. See 18:6.
  13. Ezekiel 22:9 sn This statement introduces vv. 10-11 and refers in general terms to the sexual sins described there. For the legal background of vv. 10-11, see Lev 18:7-20; 20:10-21; Deut 22:22-23, 30; 27:22.
  14. Ezekiel 22:10 tn Heb “The nakedness of a father one uncovers within you.” The ancient versions read the verb as plural (“they uncover”). If the singular is retained, it must be taken as indefinite and representative of the entire group. The idiomatic expression “uncover the nakedness” refers here to sexual intercourse (cf. Lev 18:6). To uncover a father’s nakedness could include sexual relations with one’s own mother (Lev 18:7), but more likely it refers to having intercourse with another wife of one’s father, such as a stepmother (Lev 18:8; cf. Gen 35:22; 49:4).
  15. Ezekiel 22:10 tn Heb “(one who is) unclean due to the impurity they humble within you.” The use of the verb “to humble” suggests that these men forced themselves upon women during menstruation. Having sexual relations with a woman during her period was forbidden by the Law (Lev 18:19; 20:18).
  16. Ezekiel 22:11 tn Heb “a man.”
  17. Ezekiel 22:11 tn The verb is the same one used in verse 10b and suggests forcible sexual violation of the woman.
  18. Ezekiel 22:11 sn Sexual relations with one’s half-sister may be primarily in view here. See Lev 18:9 and 20:17.
  19. Ezekiel 22:12 tn Heb “usury and interest you take.” See 18:13, 17. This kind of economic exploitation violated the law given in Lev 25:36.
  20. Ezekiel 22:12 sn Forgetting the Lord is also addressed in Deut 6:12; 8:11, 14; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Ezek 23:35; Hos 2:15; 8:14; 13:6.
  21. Ezekiel 22:12 tn The second person verb forms are feminine singular in Hebrew, indicating that the personified city is addressed here as representing its citizens.
  22. Ezekiel 22:13 sn This gesture apparently expresses mourning and/or anger (see 6:11; 21:14, 17).
  23. Ezekiel 22:13 tn Heb “the blood that was in you.”
  24. Ezekiel 22:14 tn Heb “stand.” The heart here stands for the emotions; Jerusalem would panic in the face of God’s judgment.
  25. Ezekiel 22:14 tn Heb “in the days when I act against you.”
  26. Ezekiel 22:15 sn The ultimate purpose of divine judgment is to purify the covenant community of its sins.
  27. Ezekiel 22:16 tc Several ancient versions read the verb as first person, in which case the Lord refers to how his people’s sin brings disgrace upon him. For a defense of the Hebrew text, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:712, n. 68, and M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:457-58. tn The phrase “within yourself” is the same as the several previous occurrences of “within you” but adjusted to fit this clause, which is the culmination of the series of indictments.
  28. Ezekiel 22:18 tn For similar imagery, see Isa 1:21-26 and Jer 6:27-30.
  29. Ezekiel 22:19 tn The Hebrew second person pronoun is masculine plural here and in vv. 19b-21, indicating that the people are being addressed.
  30. Ezekiel 22:20 tn Heb “I will put.” No object is supplied in the Hebrew, prompting many to emend the text to “I will blow.” See BHS and verse 21.
  31. Ezekiel 22:24 tc The MT reads: “that is not cleansed”; the LXX reads: “that is not drenched,” which assumes a different vowel pointing as well as the loss of a מ (mem) due to haplography. In light of the following reference to showers, the reading of the LXX certainly fits the context well. For a defense of the emendation, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32. Yet the MT is not an unreasonable reading since uncleanness in the land also fits the context. A poetic connection between rain and the land being uncleansed may be feasible since washing with water is elsewhere associated with cleansing (Num 8:7; 31:23; Ps 51:7).
  32. Ezekiel 22:24 tn Heb “in a day of anger.”
  33. Ezekiel 22:25 tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.
  34. Ezekiel 22:25 tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.
  35. Ezekiel 22:26 tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”
  36. Ezekiel 22:26 tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).
  37. Ezekiel 22:28 tn Heb “Her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.
  38. Ezekiel 22:29 tn Heb “and the resident foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”
  39. Ezekiel 22:30 tn Heb “I did not find.”
  40. Ezekiel 22:31 tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”
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Ezekiel 22
King James Version

22 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.

3 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord God, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself.

4 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries.

5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.

6 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.

7 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.

8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.

9 In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness.

10 In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.

11 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

12 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord God.

13 Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.

14 Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it.

15 And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.

16 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.

17 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.

19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.

21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst therof.

22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you.

23 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.

25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken.

29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.

30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.

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Ezekiel 22
New International Version

Judgment on Jerusalem’s Sins

22 The word of the Lord came to me:

2 “Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed?(A) Then confront her with all her detestable practices(B) 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood(C) in her midst and defiles herself by making idols, 4 you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed(D) and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come.(E) Therefore I will make you an object of scorn(F) to the nations and a laughingstock to all the countries.(G) 5 Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, you infamous city, full of turmoil.(H)

6 “‘See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood.(I) 7 In you they have treated father and mother with contempt;(J) in you they have oppressed the foreigner(K) and mistreated the fatherless and the widow.(L) 8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.(M) 9 In you are slanderers(N) who are bent on shedding blood;(O) in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines(P) and commit lewd acts.(Q) 10 In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed;(R) in you are those who violate women during their period,(S) when they are ceremonially unclean.(T) 11 In you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife,(U) another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law,(V) and another violates his sister,(W) his own father’s daughter.(X) 12 In you are people who accept bribes(Y) to shed blood; you take interest(Z) and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors.(AA) And you have forgotten(AB) me, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AC)

13 “‘I will surely strike my hands(AD) together at the unjust gain(AE) you have made and at the blood(AF) you have shed in your midst.(AG) 14 Will your courage endure(AH) or your hands(AI) be strong in the day I deal with you? I the Lord have spoken,(AJ) and I will do it.(AK) 15 I will disperse you among the nations and scatter(AL) you through the countries; and I will put an end to(AM) your uncleanness.(AN) 16 When you have been defiled[a] in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.’”

17 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, the people of Israel have become dross(AO) to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace.(AP) They are but the dross of silver.(AQ) 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have all become dross,(AR) I will gather you into Jerusalem. 20 As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you.(AS) 21 I will gather you and I will blow(AT) on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her.(AU) 22 As silver is melted(AV) in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath(AW) on you.’”(AX)

23 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the day of wrath.’(AY) 25 There is a conspiracy(AZ) of her princes[b] within her like a roaring lion(BA) tearing its prey; they devour people,(BB) take treasures and precious things and make many widows(BC) within her. 26 Her priests do violence to my law(BD) and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common;(BE) they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean;(BF) and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned(BG) among them.(BH) 27 Her officials(BI) within her are like wolves(BJ) tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people(BK) to make unjust gain.(BL) 28 Her prophets whitewash(BM) these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations.(BN) They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’—when the Lord has not spoken.(BO) 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery;(BP) they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner,(BQ) denying them justice.(BR)

30 “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall(BS) and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.(BT) 31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger,(BU) bringing down(BV) on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.(BW)”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 22:16 Or When I have allotted you your inheritance
  2. Ezekiel 22:25 Septuagint; Hebrew prophets
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Ezekiel 22
New King James Version

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.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 22:5 Lit. defiled of name
  2. Ezekiel 22:6 Lit. arm
  3. Ezekiel 22:7 Lit. orphan
  4. Ezekiel 22:24 So with MT, Syr., Vg.; LXX showered upon
  5. Ezekiel 22:25 So with MT, Vg.; LXX princes; Tg. scribes
  6. Ezekiel 22:25 Lit. souls
  7. Ezekiel 22:26 Lit. done violence to
  8. Ezekiel 22:27 Lit. souls
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Ezekiel 22
English Standard Version

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. 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)
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