Ezekiel 22

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

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

2 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?

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

3 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:

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 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.

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 Those who are near, and those who are far from thee, shall mock thee, O thou unclean in name, and great in confusion!

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 Israel were each [ready] with his arm within thee, in order to shed blood.

"'"Look, the princes of Israel, everyone according to his power, have been in you to shed blood.

7 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.

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 My holy things thou didst despise, and my sabbaths thou didst profane.

You have despised my holy things, and have profaned my Sabbaths.

9 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.

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 Their father's nakedness they uncovered within thee; her that was unclean in her separation did they violate within thee.

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

11 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.

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 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.

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.

13 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.

"'"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 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.

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 I will entirely remove thy uncleanness 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 thou shalt be degraded through thyself before the eyes of nations, and thou shalt 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 unto me, saying,

The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18 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.

"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 thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Because ye are all become dross, therefore, behold, 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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 unto me, saying,

The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

24 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.

"Son of man, tell her, 'You are a land that is not cleansed, nor rained on in the day of indignation,'

25 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.

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 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.

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 her midst are like wolves that tear in pieces the prey, to shed blood, to destroy souls, in order to obtain selfish 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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

"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 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.

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."