Ezekiel 22

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

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

2 “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,

“As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations

3 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.

and tell her that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O city who brings her own doom by shedding blood within her walls and making idols to defile herself,

4 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.

you are guilty of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close and have come to the end of your years. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mockery to all the lands.

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

Those near and far will mock you, O infamous city, full of turmoil.

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

See how every prince of Israel within you has used his power to shed blood.

7 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.

Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.

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

You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.

9 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.

Among you are slanderous men bent on bloodshed; within you are those who eat on the mountain shrines and commit acts of indecency.

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

In you they have uncovered the nakedness of their fathers; in you they violate women during their menstrual impurity.

11 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.

One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.

12 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!

In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

13 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.

Now look, I strike My hands together against your unjust gain and against the blood you have shed in your midst.

14 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].

Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will act.

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

I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you throughout the lands; I will purge your uncleanness.

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

And when you have defiled yourself in the eyes of the nations, then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

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

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

18 “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,

“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver.

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

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because all of you have become dross, behold, I will gather you into Jerusalem.

20 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.

Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to melt with a fiery blast, so I will gather you in My anger and wrath, leave you there, and melt you.

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

Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted within the city.

22 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.”

As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted within the city. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out My wrath upon you.’”

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

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

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

“Son of man, say to her, ‘In the day of indignation, you are a land that has not been cleansed, upon which no rain has fallen.’

25 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.

The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.

26 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.

Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

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

Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.

28 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.

Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.

29 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.

The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and have exploited the foreign resident without justice.

30 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.

I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.

31 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!”

So I have poured out My indignation upon them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their ways down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”