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Indictment of Sinful Leaders

23 The word of the Lord came to me, saying: 24 Son of man, say to her: You are the land that is not cleansed nor rained upon in the day of indignation. 25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured souls. They have taken the treasure and precious things. They have made many widows in her midst. 26 Her priests have violated My law and have profaned My holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and profane, nor have they shown the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27 Her officials in her midst are like wolves ravening the prey by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to obtain dishonest gain. 28 Her prophets have daubed them with whitewash, seeing vanity and divining lies for them, saying, “Thus says the Lord God,” when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery and have vexed the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner wrongfully.

30 I sought for a man among them who would build up the hedge and stand in the gap before Me for the land so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. 31 Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them. I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath. Their own way I have recompensed on their heads, says the Lord God.

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23 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] 24 “Son of man,[c] say to her, ‘You are a land not cleansed; it is not rained upon in the day of indignation.’ 25 The conspiracy of its prophets in the midst of her is like a roaring lion that is tearing prey. They devour people, and they take wealth and treasure; they make its widows numerous in the midst of her. 26 Its priests treat my law violently, and they profane my holy objects; they do not distinguish between a holy object and what is unholy, or between the clean and the unclean. They do not teach the difference, and they hide their eyes from my Sabbaths, and so I am profaned in the midst of them. 27 Its officials are like wolves tearing prey in its midst, to pour out blood, to destroy people, to make dishonest gain. 28 And for them its prophets plaster whitewash; they are seeing falseness and are practicing divination for them by lying, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh,’ and Yahweh has not spoken. 29 They severely oppress the people of the land, and they committed robbery,[d] and they mistreated the needy and the poor, and they oppressed the alien without[e] justice. 30 And so I sought for them somebody, one repairing the wall and standing in the breach before me[f] on behalf of the land not to destroy it, but I did not find anyone, 31 and so I poured out my indignation on them. With the fire of my wrath I destroyed them; I returned their way upon their head,” declares[g] the Lord Yahweh.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 22:23 Literally “was”
  2. Ezekiel 22:23 Literally “to say”
  3. Ezekiel 22:24 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  4. Ezekiel 22:29 Literally “and they seized a robbed things
  5. Ezekiel 22:29 Literally “with not”
  6. Ezekiel 22:30 Literally “to the face of me”
  7. Ezekiel 22:31 Literally “declaration of”