Ezekiel 22

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

Then the word of Yahweh 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,

“Now you, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the city of blood? Make her know 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.

You must say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: This is a city that pours out blood in her midst so that her time may come; a city that makes idols to make herself unclean.

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 have become guilty by the blood that you have poured out, and you have become unclean by the idols that you have made. You have drawn your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you a reproach to the nations and a laughingstock to all the lands.

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

Both those who are near and those who are far away from you will mock you—you unclean city—with the reputation known everywhere as being full of confusion.

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

Behold! The rulers of Israel, each one by his own power, have come to you to pour out 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.

They have dishonored fathers and mothers within you, and they have performed oppression on the foreigners in your midst. They have mistreated the orphans and the widows within you.

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

You have despised my holy things and have 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.

Slanderous men have come within you in order to pour out blood, and they eat on the mountains. They perform wickedness in your midst.

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

Within you men uncover the nakedness of their father. Within you they have violated unclean women during their menstrual period.

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.

Men who commit abominations with their neighbors' wives, and men who make their own daughters-in-law shamefully unclean; men who abuse their own sisters—daughters of their own fathers—all these are done within you.

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!

These men take bribes within you in order to pour out blood and you have taken interest and gained too much profit, and you have damaged your neighbors through oppression, and you have forgotten me—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

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.

See! With my hand I have struck the dishonest gain that you have made, and the bloodshed that is done in the midst of you.

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 heart stand, will your hands be strong on the days when I myself will deal with you? I, Yahweh, am declaring this, and I will do it.

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

So I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the lands. In this way, I will purge your uncleanness from you.

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

So you will become unclean in the eyes of the nations. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.'”

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

Next the word of Yahweh 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 the leftovers of bronze and tin, and iron and lead in the midst of you. They will be like the dross of silver in your furnace.

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

Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Because all of you have become like dross, therefore, behold! I am about to gather you into the midst of 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.

As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead and tin and put it inside a furnace to melt it, and they blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and my wrath, and I will put 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.

I will gather you and blow on you the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it.

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, you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my wrath on you!'”

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

The word of Yahweh 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, 'You are a land that has not been cleansed. There is no rain on the day of wrath!

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.

There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing apart a victim. They consume life and take precious wealth; they make many 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 they profane my holy things. They do not distinguish between holy things and profane things, and do not teach the difference between the unclean and the clean. They hide their eyes from my Sabbaths so that I am profaned in their midst.

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 princes within her are like wolves tearing apart their victims. They pour out blood and destroy life, to make a profit dishonestly.

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 have painted them over with whitewash; they see false visions and predict falsehoods to them. They say “The Lord Yahweh says this” when Yahweh 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 oppressed through extortion and plundered through robbery, and they mistreat the poor and needy, and oppress the foreigner 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.

So I searched for a man from them who would build up a wall and who would stand before me in its breach for the land so I would 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 will pour out my indignation upon them. I will finish them with the fire of my indignation and set their way on their own heads—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'”