Ezekiel 22
1 And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying:
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 Thou therefore son of man, Wilt thou judge wilt thou judge the city of bloodshed; and cause her to know all her abominations?
And you, son of man, will you be a judge, will you be a judge of the town of blood? then make clear to her all her disgusting ways.
3 Thou shalt say then Thus saith My Lord. Yahweh, A city shedding blood in her own midst That her time might come, Therefore hath she been making manufactured gods for herself, to be defiled.
And you are to say, This is what the Lord has said: A town causing blood to be drained out in her streets so that her time may come, and making images in her to make her unclean!
4 Because of the blood which thou hast shed, hast thou become guilty. And with the manufactured gods which thou hast made, hast thou defiled thyself, Thus hast thou brought near thy days, And hast come unto thy years, — For this cause, have I delivered thee As a reproach to the nations, And as a derision to all the lands.
You are responsible for the blood drained out by you, and you are unclean through the images which you have made; and you have made your day come near, and the time of your judging has come; for this cause I have made you a name of shame to the nations and a cause of laughing to all countries.
5 They who are near and they who are far off from thee shall shew themselves derisive over thee, — O thou of impure name, abounding in confusion!
Those who are near and those who are far from you will make sport of you; your name is unclean, you are full of sounds of fear.
6 Lo! the princes of Israel, every man for his own arm, have they been in thee, For the sake of shedding blood.
See, the rulers of Israel, every one in his family, have been causing death in you.
7 Father and mother, have they despised in thee, To the sojourner, have they dealt with oppression in the midst of thee, — The fatherless and the widow, have they maltreated in thee:
In you they have had no respect for father and mother; in you they have been cruel to the man from a strange land; in you they have done wrong to the child without a father and to the widow.
8 My holy things, hast thou despised, - And my sabbaths, hast thou profaned:
You have made little of my holy things, and have made my Sabbaths unclean.
9 Slanders, have arisen in thee For the sake of shedding blood, - And unto the mountains, have they eaten in thee, Lewdness, have they practised in the midst of thee:
In you there are men who say evil of others, causing death; in you they have taken the flesh with the blood for food; in your streets they have put evil designs into effect.
10 A father’s shame hath been uncovered in thee, Her that was unclean in her removal, have they humbled in thee;
In you they have let the shame of their fathers be seen; in you they have done wrong to a woman at the time when she was unclean.
11 And, one man, with the wife of his neighbour, hath wrought abomination, And another, hath defiled, his daughter-in-law, by shameful deed, — And another, his own sister daughter of his own father, hath humbled in thee:
And in you one man has done what was disgusting with his neighbour's wife; and another has made his daughter-in-law unclean; and another has done wrong to his sister, his father's daughter.
12 Bribes, have they accepted in thee, For the sake of shedding blood, -Interest and increase, hast thou accepted And thou hast overreached thy neighbour by oppression, And me, hast thou forgotten, Declareth My Lord Yahweh.
In you they have taken rewards as the price of blood; you have taken interest and great profits, and you have taken away your neighbours' goods by force, and have not kept me in mind, says the Lord.
13 Lo! therefore I have smitten my hand, At thine unjust gain which thou hast made— And over thy bloodshed, which they have caused in thy midst.
See, then, I have made my hands come together in wrath against your taking of goods by force and against the blood which has been flowing in you.
14 Can thy heart endure or can thy hands be strong in the days when I am dealing with thee? I. Yahweh have spoken and will perform.
Will your heart be high or your hands strong in the days when I take you in hand? I the Lord have said it and will do it.
15 Therefore will I disperse thee among the nations, And scatter thee throughout the lands, — And will cause to cease thine impurity out of thee;
And I will send you in flight among the nations and wandering among the countries; and I will completely take away out of you everything which is unclean.
16 So shalt thou be profaned in thyself, before the eyes of nations, Thus shalt thou know that, I, am Yahweh.
And you will be made low before the eyes of the nations; and it will be clear to you that I am the Lord.
17 Then came the word of Yahweh unto me, saying:
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
18 Son of man, The house of Israel hath become to me, dross, — They all are copper and tin and iron and lead in the midst of a furnace, The dross of silver, have they become.
Son of man, the children of Israel have become like the poorest sort of waste metal to me: they are all silver and brass and tin and iron and lead mixed with waste.
19 Therefore, Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, Because ye all are become dross, Therefore, behold me! gathering you into the midst of Jerusalem:
For this cause the Lord has said: Because you have all become waste metal, see, I will get you together inside Jerusalem.
20 As they gather silver and copper and iron and lead and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow upon it the fire to melt it, So, will I gather in mine anger and in mine indignation, and will let be and will melt you;
As they put silver and brass and iron and lead and tin together inside the oven, heating up the fire on it to make it soft; so will I get you together in my wrath and in my passion, and, heating the fire with my breath, will make you soft.
21 Yea I will gather you together, and blow upon you, with the fire of my wrath, — And ye shall be melted in the midst thereof:
Yes, I will take you, breathing on you the fire of my wrath, and you will become soft in it.
22 As silver is melted in he midst of a furnace, So, shall ye be melted in the midst thereof, — Then shall ye know that, I Yahweh, have poured out mine indignation upon you.
As silver becomes soft in the oven, so you will become soft in it; and you will be certain that I the Lord have let loose my passion on you.
23 And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying:
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
24 Son of man, say to her. Thou, art a land, that is not to be rained upon, nor to receive fruitful showers, in the day of indignation.
Son of man, say to her, You are a land on which no rain or thunderstorm has come in the day of wrath.
25 Because her princes in her midst are like a roaring lion rending prey, — Life, have they devoured Wealth and precious things, have they been wont to take, Her widows, have they multiplied in her midst.
Her rulers in her are like a loud-voiced lion violently taking his food; they have made a meal of souls; they have taken wealth and valued property; they have made great the number of widows in her.
26 Her priests have done violence to my law And have profaned my holy things, Between the hallowed and the common, have they put no difference, And between the unclean and clean, have they not taught men to discern, - And from my sabbaths, have they hid their eyes, So that I have been profaned in their midst.
Her priests have been acting violently against my law; they have made my holy things unclean: they have made no division between what is holy and what is common, and they have not made it clear that the unclean is different from the clean, and their eyes have been shut to my Sabbaths, and I am not honoured among them.
27 Her rulers within her have been like wolves, rending prey, - In shedding blood In destroying lives, For the sake of getting dishonest gain.
Her rulers in her are like wolves violently taking their food; putting men to death and causing the destruction of souls, so that they may get their profit.
28 And her prophets have coated it for them with whitewash, Seeing visions of falsehood And divining for them lies, Saying, Thus saith My Lord Yahweh, when Yahweh, hath not spoken.
And her prophets have been using whitewash, seeing foolish visions and making false use of secret arts, saying, This is what the Lord has said, when the Lord has said nothing.
29 The people of the land have exacted oppression, and seized plunder, - Even the afflicted and the needy, have they maltreated, And the sojourner have they oppressed without justice.
The people of the land have been acting cruelly, taking men's goods by force; they have been hard on the poor and those in need, and have done wrong to the man from a strange land.
30 Then sought I from among them, a man Who could build up a wall And stand in the breach before me in behalf of the land So that I might not destroy her, — But I found none.
And I was looking for a man among them who would make up the wall and take his station in the broken place before me for the land, so that I might not send destruction on it: but there was no one.
31 Therefore have I poured out upon them mine indignation, In the fire of mine outburst, have I consumed them, — Their way, upon their own head, have I placed Declareth, My Lord Yahweh.
And I let loose my passion on them, and have put an end to them in the fire of my wrath: I have made the punishment of their ways come on their heads, says the Lord.
