Ezekiel 22
1 Moreover, the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
2 Now thou sonne of man, wilt thou iudge, wilt thou iudge this bloody citie? wilt thou shew her all her abominations?
“So, son of man, are you ready to judge them? Are you ready to judge the people of this city that have caused so much bloodshed? Make them face all the disgusting things they've done,
3 Then say, Thus sayth the Lord God, The citie sheddeth blood in the middes of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against her selfe to pollute her selfe.
and tell them that this is what the Lord God says: You are a city who has caused your own doom by murdering people within your walls, and by making idols to worship that made you unclean.
4 Thou hast offended in thy blood, that thou hast shed, and hast polluted thy selfe in thine idols, which thou hast made, and thou hast caused thy dayes to draw neere, and art come vnto thy terme: therefore haue I made thee a reproch to the heathen, and a mocking to all countreys.
You are guilty of murder, and you have made yourself unclean by the idols you've made. You have shortened your lives—your time is up! That's why other people taunt you—everyone mocks you.
5 Those that be neere, and those that be farre from thee, shall mocke thee, which art vile in name and sore in affliction.
People far and near will laugh at you, you corrupt city full of confusion!
6 Beholde, the princes of Israel euery one in thee was ready to his power, to shed blood.
Look at how all of your leaders in Israel use their power to murder.
7 In thee haue they despised father and mother: in the middes of thee haue they oppressed the stranger: in thee haue they vexed the fatherlesse and the widowe.
You despise your parents. You exploit the foreigners who live with you, and you mistreat orphans and widows.
8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast polluted my Sabbaths.
You detest my holy things and violate my Sabbaths.
9 In thee are men that cary tales to shed blood: in thee are they that eate vpon the mountaines: in ye mids of thee they comit abomination.
Living among you are people who falsely accuse others in order to put them to death. You also have those who eat religious meals at pagan shrines in the mountains, and commit immoral acts within the city.
10 In thee haue they discouered their fathers shame: in thee haue they vexed her that was polluted in her floures.
Some of those living in the city have sex with their father's wives or with women during their period.
11 And euery one hath committed abomination with his neighbours wife, and euery one hath wickedly defiled his daughter in lawe, and in thee hath euery man forced his owne sister, euen his fathers daughter.
You're home to evil men. One does disgusting things with someone else's wife. Another seduces his daughter-in-law, while another rapes his sister, the daughter of his own father.
12 In thee haue they taken giftes to shed blood: thou hast taken vsurie and the encrease, and thou hast defrauded thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord God.
Your people take money to murder others. You charge interest and make a profit on loans, and use extortion to get money from your neighbors. You have forgotten all about me, declares the Lord God.
13 Beholde, therefore I haue smitten mine hands vpon thy couetousnesse, that thou hast vsed, and vpon the blood, which hath bene in the middes of thee.
So watch out! I clap my hands in condemnation at your dishonest profiteering and at all your murders.
14 Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the dayes that I shall haue to doe with thee? I the Lord haue spoken it, and will doe it.
Are you going to be so brave, and will you be strong enough to defend yourselves when it comes time for me to deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I'm going to act.
15 And I wil scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countreys, and will cause thy filthines to cease from thee.
I'm going to scatter you among the nations and the different countries. I will put a stop to your unclean acts.
16 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thy selfe in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt knowe that I am the Lord.
For when everyone else sees how you've made yourselves unclean, then you will acknowledge that I am the Lord.”
17 And the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
18 Sonne of man, the house of Israel is vnto me as drosse: all they are brasse, and tinne, and yron, and leade in the mids of the fornace: they are euen the drosse of siluer.
“Son of man, the people of Israel have ended up like the impurities left over from refining metal. They're all like copper, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace—they are just the impurities left from refining silver.
19 Therefore, thus sayth the Lord God, Because ye are all as drosse, beholde, therefore I will gather you in the middes of Ierusalem.
So this is what the Lord God says: Because all of you have ended up like impurities, watch as I collect you together in Jerusalem.
20 As they gather siluer and brasse, and yron, and leade, and tinne into the middes of the fornace, to blowe the fire vpon it to melt it, so wil I gather you in mine anger and in my wrath, and wil put you there and melt you.
In the same way a refiner collects silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin and puts them in the blast furnace to melt them with fire, I'm going to collect you in my burning anger, and keep you there until I melt you.
21 I wil gather you, I say, and blowe the fire of my wrath vpon you, and you shalbe melted in the mids thereof.
I'm going to collect you all together and blast you with the fire of my anger, and you'll be melted there in the city.
22 As siluer is melted in the mids of the fornace, so shall ye be melted in the mids thereof, and ye shall knowe, that I the Lord haue powred out my wrath vpon you.
Just as silver is melted in a furnace, so you'll be melted in the city. Then you will realize that I, the Lord, have made you experience my anger.”
23 And the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
24 Sonne of man, say vnto her; Thou art the land, that is vncleane, and not rained vpon in the day of wrath.
“Son of man, tell the city of Jerusalem, at the time of punishment, you are a country that has not been made clean, a place where no rain has fallen,
25 There is a conspiracie of her prophets in the mids thereof like a roaring lyon, rauening the praye: they haue deuoured soules: they haue taken the riches and precious things: they haue made her many widowes in the mids thereof.
Her leaders conspire together and it's like watching a roaring lion ripping up its prey. They destroy the people, grab everything that's valuable, and make many more widows in the city.
26 Her Priests haue broken my Lawe, and haue defiled mine holy things: they haue put no difference betweene the holy and prophane, neither discerned betweene the vncleane, and the cleane, and haue hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am prophaned among them.
Her priests pervert my law and make my holy things unclean. They don't distinguish between what is holy and what is ordinary, and they don't separate the clean from the unclean. They forget about my Sabbaths, and they lead people to treat me with no respect.
27 Her princes in the mids thereof are like wolues, rauening the praye to shed blood, and to destroy soules for their owne couetous lucre.
Her city officials are like wolves ripping up their prey, killing people, destroying lives so they can profit through fraud.
28 And her prophets haue dawbed them with vntempered morter, seeing vanities, and diuining lies vnto them, saying, Thus sayth the Lord God, when the Lord had not spoken.
Her prophets cover up what they do, using false visions as whitewash and prophecies that are lies, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord hasn't said anything.
29 The people of the land haue violently oppressed by spoyling and robbing, and haue vexed the poore and the needy: yea, they haue oppressed the stranger against right.
The people of this country are extortioners and robbers. They mistreat the poor and those in need and exploit the foreigners, treating them totally unfairly.
30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make vp the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
I tried to find one of them repair the wall and defend the gap so when I came I wouldn't destroy it—but I couldn't find anyone.
31 Therefore haue I powred out mine indignation vpon them, and consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their owne wayes haue I rendred vpon their heads, sayth the Lord God.
So I have let them experience my hostility, burning them up with the fire of my anger. I have made sure they suffer the consequences of what they've done, declares the Lord God.”
