Jezekiel 22

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

Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

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

"You, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her 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;

You shall say, 'Thus says the LORD: "Woe to the city that sheds blood in the midst of her, so that her time may come, and that makes idols against herself to defile her.

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 become guilty in your blood that you have shed, and are defiled in your idols which you have made; and you have caused your days to draw near, and have come even to your years: therefore have I made you a reproach to the nations, and a mocking to all the countries.

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.

Those who are near, and those who are far from you, shall mock you, you infamous one and full of tumult.

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

"'"Look, the princes of Israel, everyone according to his power, 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.

In you have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of you have they dealt by oppression with the foreigner; in you have they wronged the fatherless and the widow.

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 have profaned 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.

Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood; and in you they have eaten on the mountains: in the midst of you they have committed lewdness.

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

In you have they uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in you have they humbled her who was unclean in her impurity.

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.

One has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife; and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in you has humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

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.

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.

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,

"'"Look, therefore, I have struck my hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at your blood which has been in the midst of you.

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].

Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken it, and will do 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.

I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you through the countries; and I will consume your filthiness 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.

You shall be profaned in yourself, in the sight of the nations; and you shall know that I am the LORD."'"

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

The word of the LORD came 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 become dross to me: all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are the dross of silver.

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 says the LORD: 'Because you have all become dross, therefore, look, I will gather 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.

As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire on it, to melt it; so will I gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will lay you there, and melt you.

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

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 ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath upon you.

As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so you will be melted in its midst; and you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my wrath on you.'"

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

The word of the LORD came 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, tell her, 'You are a land that is not cleansed, nor rained on in the 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.

whose princes within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey: they have devoured souls; they take treasure and precious things; they have made her widows many 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.

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, and I am profaned among them.

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

Her officials in its midst are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get 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.

Her prophets have plastered for them with whitewash, seeing false visions, and divining lies to them, saying, 'Thus says the LORD,' when the LORD 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 exercised robbery; yes, they have troubled the poor and needy, and have oppressed the foreigner wrongfully.

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 searched for a man among them who would build up the wall, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I 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.

Therefore have I poured out my indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I brought on their heads, says the LORD."