< Ezekiel 22 >
1 And the word of Yahweh came unto 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?
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.
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.
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!
6 Lo! the princes of Israel, every man for his own arm, have they been in thee, For the sake of shedding blood.
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:
8 My holy things, hast thou despised, - And my sabbaths, hast thou profaned:
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:
10 A father’s shame hath been uncovered in thee, Her that was unclean in her removal, have they humbled in thee;
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:
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.
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.
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.
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;
16 So shalt thou be profaned in thyself, before the eyes of nations, Thus shalt thou know that, I, am Yahweh.
17 Then came the word of Yahweh unto 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.
19 Therefore, Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, Because ye all are become dross, Therefore, behold me! gathering you into the midst of 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;
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:
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.
23 And the word of Yahweh came unto 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.
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.
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.
27 Her rulers within her have been like wolves, rending prey, - In shedding blood In destroying lives, For the sake of getting dishonest gain.
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.
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.
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.
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.
