Ezekiel 22
1 Moreover the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 “You, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.
And thou, son of man, wilt thou take to task, wilt thou take to task the city of blood? and wilt thou make her know all her abominations?
3 You shall say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “A city that sheds blood within herself, that her time may come, and that makes idols against herself to defile her!
Then say thou, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, O city that sheddeth blood in her midst, that her time [of sorrow] may come, and that hath made idols for herself to become unclean:
4 You have become guilty in your blood that you have shed, and are defiled in your idols which you have made! You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mocking to all the countries.
Through thy blood which thou hast shed, are thou become guilty; and through thy idols which thou hast made art thou become unclean; and thou hast caused thy days [of destruction] to draw near, and thou art come even unto thy years; therefore do I make thee a disgrace unto the nations, and a mocking to all the countries.
5 Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you infamous one, full of tumult.
Those who are near, and those who are far from thee, shall mock thee, O thou unclean in name, and great in confusion!
6 “‘“Behold, the princes of Israel, everyone according to his power, have been in you to shed blood.
Behold, the princes of Israel were each [ready] with his arm within thee, in order to shed blood.
7 In you have they treated father and mother with contempt. Among you they have oppressed the foreigner. In you they have wronged the fatherless and the widow.
Father and mother they esteemed lightly within thee, toward the stranger they acted with extortion in the midst of thee, the fatherless and the widow they oppressed within thee.
8 You have despised my holy things, and have profaned my Sabbaths.
My holy things thou didst despise, and my sabbaths thou didst profane.
9 Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood. In you they have eaten on the mountains. They have committed lewdness among you.
Tale-bearers [also] were within thee, in order to shed blood; and upon the mountains did they eat within thee; incest did they commit in the midst of thee.
10 In you have they uncovered their fathers’ nakedness. In you have they humbled her who was unclean in her impurity.
Their father's nakedness they uncovered within thee; her that was unclean in her separation did they violate within thee.
11 One has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife, and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law. Another in you has humbled his sister, his father’s daughter.
And one with his neighbor's wife did commit abomination; and another did defile his daughter-in-law with incest; and another did violate his sister, the daughter of his father, within thee.
12 In you have they taken bribes to shed blood. You have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by oppression, and have forgotten me,” says the Lord GOD.
Bribes they took within thee, in order to shed blood; interest and increase didst thou take, and thou didst acquire gain off thy neighbors by extortion: and me thou didst forget, saith the Lord Eternal.
13 “‘“Behold, therefore I have struck my hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at the blood which has been shed within you.
And behold, I have struck my hands together at thy wrongful gain which thou hast acquired, and at thy blood-guilt which hath been in the midst of thee.
14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I will deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken it, and will do it.
Will thy courage endure, or will thy hands remain strong, on the days that I will deal with thee? I the Lord have spoken, and will do it.
15 I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you through the countries. I will purge your filthiness out of you.
And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee in the countries, and I will entirely remove thy uncleanness out of thee.
16 You will be profaned in yourself in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”’”
And thou shalt be degraded through thyself before the eyes of nations, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
17 The LORD’s word came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the middle of the furnace. They are the dross of silver.
Son of man, the house of Israel are become to me dross: they all are copper, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; the dross of silver are they become.
19 Therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the middle of Jerusalem.
Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Because ye are all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20 As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the middle of the furnace, to blow the fire on it, to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will lay you there and melt you.
As silver, and copper, and iron, and lead, and tin are gathered into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it: so will I gather you in my anger and in my fury and I will lay you down there, and melt you.
21 Yes, I will gather you, and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in the middle of it.
Yea, I will assemble you in a heap, and blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst of it.
22 As silver is melted in the middle of the furnace, so you will be melted in the middle of it; and you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my wrath on you.’”
As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst of it: and ye shall know that I am the Lord who have poured out my fury over you.
23 The LORD’s word came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
24 “Son of man, tell her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed nor rained on in the day of indignation.’
Son of man, say unto her, Thou art a land that is not cleansed; [and] which is not rained upon on the day of indignation.
25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets within it, like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured souls. They take treasure and precious things. They have made many widows within it.
The banded troop of her prophets in the midst of her is like a roaring lion that teareth in pieces the prey: souls do they devour; wealth and precious things do they take away; the number of her widows do they increase in the midst of her.
26 Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hidden their eyes from my Sabbaths. So I am profaned among them.
Her priests violate my law, and profane my holy things: between the holy and profane do they make no distinction, and the difference between the unclean and the clean do they not make known, and from [the violation of] my sabbaths do they turn away their eyes, so that I am profaned among them.
27 Her princes within it are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.
Her princes in her midst are like wolves that tear in pieces the prey, to shed blood, to destroy souls, in order to obtain selfish gain.
28 Her prophets have plastered for them with whitewash, seeing false visions, and divining lies to them, saying, ‘The Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
And her prophets plastered for them with unadhesive mortar, foreseeing falsehood, and divining unto them lies, saying, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal; when the Lord had not spoken.
29 The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery. Yes, they have troubled the poor and needy, and have oppressed the foreigner wrongfully.
The people of the land are guilty of extortion, and practise robbery, and the poor and the needy they defraud: and they extort from the stranger with injustice.
30 “I sought for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.
And I seek now among them for a man, that could erect a fence, and stand in the breach before me in behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it; but I find none.
31 Therefore I have poured out my indignation on them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have brought their own way on their heads,” says the Lord GOD.
And I therefore pour out over them my indignation; with the fire of my wrath do I make an end of them: their own way do I bring upon their head, saith the Lord Eternal.
