Ezekiel 22
1 And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying:
A message from 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?
“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 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 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 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 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 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!
People far and near will laugh at you, you corrupt city full of confusion!
6 Lo! the princes of Israel, every man for his own arm, have they been in thee, For the sake of shedding blood.
Look at how all of your leaders in Israel use their power to murder.
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:
You despise your parents. You exploit the foreigners who live with you, and you mistreat orphans and widows.
8 My holy things, hast thou despised, - And my sabbaths, hast thou profaned:
You detest my holy things and violate my Sabbaths.
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:
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 A father’s shame hath been uncovered in thee, Her that was unclean in her removal, have they humbled in thee;
Some of those living in the city have sex with their father's wives or with women during their period.
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:
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 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.
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 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.
So watch out! I clap my hands in condemnation at your dishonest profiteering and at all your murders.
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.
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 Therefore will I disperse thee among the nations, And scatter thee throughout the lands, — And will cause to cease thine impurity out of thee;
I'm going to scatter you among the nations and the different countries. I will put a stop to your unclean acts.
16 So shalt thou be profaned in thyself, before the eyes of nations, Thus shalt thou know that, I, am Yahweh.
For when everyone else sees how you've made yourselves unclean, then you will acknowledge that I am the Lord.”
17 Then came the word of Yahweh unto me, saying:
A message from 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 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, saith My Lord Yahweh, Because ye all are become dross, Therefore, behold me! gathering you into the midst of Jerusalem:
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 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;
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 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:
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 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.
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 word of Yahweh came unto me, saying:
Another message from 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, 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 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 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 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 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 rulers within her have been like wolves, rending prey, - In shedding blood In destroying lives, For the sake of getting dishonest gain.
Her city officials are like wolves ripping up their prey, killing people, destroying lives so they can profit through fraud.
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.
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 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 this country are extortioners and robbers. They mistreat the poor and those in need and exploit the foreigners, treating them totally unfairly.
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.
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 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.
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.”
