Jezekiel 22

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

2 And thou, son of man, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, declare thou to her all her iniquities.

“And you, son of man, do you judge? Do you judge the city of blood? Then you have caused it to know all its abominations,

3 And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord God: O city that sheds blood in the midst of her, so that her time should come, and that forms devices against herself, to defile herself;

and you have said, Thus said Lord YHWH: The city is shedding blood in its midst, For the coming in of its time, And it has made idols on it for defilement.

4 in their blood which thou hast shed, thou hast transgressed; and in thy devices which thou hast formed, thou hast polluted thyself; and thou hast brought nigh thy days, and hast brought on the time of thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach to the Gentiles, and a mockery to all the countries,

You have been guilty by your blood that you have shed, And you have been defiled by your idols that you have made, And you cause your days to draw near, And have come to your years, Therefore I have given you [for] a reproach to nations, And a derision to all the lands.

5 to those near thee, and to those far distant from thee; and they shall mock thee, [thou that art] notoriously unclean, and abundant in iniquities.

The near and the far-off from you scoff at you, O defiled of name—abounding in trouble.

6 Behold, the princes of the house of Israel have conspired in thee each one with his kindred, that they might shed blood.

Behold, princes of Israel—each according to his arm Have been in you to shed blood.

7 In thee they have reviled father and mother; and in thee they have behaved unjustly toward the stranger: they have oppressed the orphan and widow.

They have made light of father and mother in you, They dealt oppressively to a sojourner in your midst, They oppressed fatherless and widow in you.

8 And they have set at nought my holy things, and in thee they have profaned my sabbaths.

You have despised My holy things, And you have defiled My Sabbaths.

9 [There are] robbers in thee, to shed blood in thee; and in thee they have eaten upon the mountains: they have wrought ungodliness in the midst of thee.

Men of slander have been in you to shed blood, And they have eaten on the mountains in you, They have done wickedness in your midst.

10 In thee they have uncovered the father's shame; and in thee they have humbled her that was set apart for uncleanness.

One has uncovered the nakedness of a father in you, They humbled the menstruous woman in you.

11 They have dealt unlawfully each one with his neighbor's wife; and each one in ungodliness has defiled his daughter-in-law: and in thee they have humbled each one his sister, the daughter of his father.

And each has done abomination with the wife of his neighbor, And each has defiled his daughter-in-law through wickedness, And each has humbled his sister, his father’s daughter, in you.

12 In thee they have received gifts to shed blood; they have received in thee interest and usurious increase; and by oppression thou hast brought thy wickedness to the full, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord.

They have taken a bribe to shed blood in you, You have taken usury and increase, And cut off your neighbor by oppression, And you have forgotten Me, A declaration of Lord YHWH!

13 And if I shall smite my hand at [thine iniquities] which thou hast accomplished, which thou hast wrought, and at thy blood that has been shed in the midst of thee,

And behold, I have struck My hand, Because of your dishonest gain that you have gained, And for your blood that has been in your midst.

14 shall thy heart endure? shall thine hands be strong in the days which I bring upon thee? I the Lord have spoken, and will do [it].

Does your heart stand—are your hands strong, For the days that I am dealing with you? I, YHWH, have spoken and have done [it].

15 And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee in the countries, and thy uncleanness shall be removed out of thee.

And I have scattered you among nations, And have spread you out among lands, And consumed your uncleanness out of you.

16 And I will give heritages in thee in the sight of the nations, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

And you have been defiled in yourself Before the eyes of nations, And you have known that I [am] YHWH.”

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

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

18 Son of man, behold, the house of Israel are all become to me [as it were] mixed with brass, and iron, and tin, and lead; they are mixed up in the midst of the silver.

“Son of man, the house of Israel has been for dross to Me, All of them [are] bronze, and tin, and iron, and lead, In the midst of a furnace—silver has been dross,

19 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have become one mixture, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: Because you have all become dross, Therefore, behold, I am gathering you into the midst of Jerusalem,

20 As silver, and brass, and iron, and tin, and lead, are gathered into the midst of the furnace, to blow fire into it, that they may be melted: so will I take [you] in my wrath, and I will gather and melt you.

A gathering of silver, and bronze, and iron, and lead, and tin, Into the midst of a furnace—to blow fire on it, to melt it, So I gather in My anger and in My fury, And I have let rest, and have melted you.

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

And I have heaped you up, And blown on you in the fire of My wrath, And you have been melted in its midst.

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

As the melting of silver in the midst of a furnace, So you are melted in its midst, And you have known that I, YHWH, have poured out My fury on you.”

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

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

24 Son of man, say to her, Thou art the land that is not rained upon, neither has rain come upon thee in the day of wrath;

“Son of man, say to it, You [are] a land, It [is] not cleansed nor rained on in a day of indignation.

25 whose princes in the midst of her are as roaring lions seizing prey, devouring souls by oppression, and taking bribes; and thy widows are multiplied in the midst of thee.

A conspiracy of its prophets [is] in its midst, As a roaring lion tearing prey; They have devoured the soul, They have taken wealth and glory, Its widows have multiplied in its midst.

26 Her priests also have set at nought my law, and profaned my holy things: they have not distinguished between the holy and profane, nor have they distinguished between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I was profaned in the midst of them.

Its priests have wronged My law, And they defile My holy things, They have not made separation between holy and common, And they have not made known [the difference] between the unclean and the clean, And they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, And I am pierced in their midst.

27 Her princes in the midst of her are as wolves ravening to shed blood, that they may get dishonest gain.

Its princes [are] as wolves in its midst, Tearing prey, to shed blood, to destroy souls, For the sake of gaining dishonest gain.

28 And her prophets that daub them shall fall, that see vanities, that prophesy falsehoods, saying, Thus saith the Lord, when the Lord has not spoken.

And its prophets have coated with chalk for them, Seeing a vain thing, and divining a lie for them, Saying, Thus said Lord YHWH, And YHWH has not spoken.

29 That sorely oppress the people of the land with injustice, and commit robbery; oppressing the poor and needy, and not dealing justly with the stranger.

The people of the land have used oppression, And have taken plunder away violently, And have oppressed humble and needy, And oppressed the sojourner without judgment.

30 And I sought from among them a man behaving uprightly, and standing before me perfectly in the time of wrath, so that I should not utterly destroy her: but I found [him] not.

And I seek from them a man making a wall, And standing in the breach before Me, In behalf of the land—not to destroy it, And I have found none.

31 So I have poured out my wrath upon her in the fury of mine anger, to accomplish [it]. I have recompensed their ways on their own heads, saith the Lord God.

And I pour out My indignation on them, I have consumed them by [the] fire of My wrath, I have put their way on their own head, A declaration of Lord YHWH!”