Ezekiel 22
1 Yahweh gave me another message. He said,
And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying:
2 “You human, are you ready to condemn the people of Jerusalem? It is [RHQ] a city full of murderers [MTY]. Remind them of all the detestable things that they have done.
Thou therefore son of man, Wilt thou judge wilt thou judge the city of bloodshed; and cause her to know all her abominations?
3 [Then] say, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: By your murdering people and by (defiling yourselves/making yourselves unacceptable to God) by making idols, you people of this city [APO] have brought to yourselves the time when you [will be destroyed].
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 You have become guilty by doing both of those things [DOU]. You have brought to an end your time [to remain alive] [DOU]. Therefore I will cause you to become a group whom the [people of other] nations will scorn; they will all laugh at you [DOU].
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 People in countries that are near you and people who live far from you will make fun of you, because your city is full of lawless people and full of confusion.
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 Think about how each of your Israeli kings have used their power to cause people to be murdered [MTY].
Lo! the princes of Israel, every man for his own arm, have they been in thee, For the sake of shedding blood.
7 Your people do not respect/honor their parents; they have oppressed foreigners; they mistreat orphans and widows.
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 You despise my sacred places and (dishonor/do not respect) the Sabbath days.
My holy things, hast thou despised, - And my sabbaths, hast thou profaned:
9 Among you are men who tell lies in order to cause others to be executed [MTY]. There are those who [food offered to idols] at the hilltop [shrines], and they perform disgusting sexual acts.
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 There are men who have sex with their father’s wives [EUP], and men who have sex with women during their monthly menstrual periods.
A father’s shame hath been uncovered in thee, Her that was unclean in her removal, have they humbled in thee;
11 There are men who have sex with someone else’s wife. Some men have sex with their daughters-in-law or with their sisters or half-sisters.
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 There are among you men who accept bribes in order to cause someone to be executed [MTY]. You charge high interest when you lend people money. You become rich by forcing people to give you money. [the worst thing is that] you have forgotten me, Yahweh the Lord.
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 So I will shake my fists at you to show that I am angry with you because of your stealing money from people and murdering [MTY] people who live among you.
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 When I [punishing] you, you will no longer [RHQ] be courageous/brave [DOU]. I, Yahweh, have said [what I will do to you], and I will do it.
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 I will cause you to be scattered among many nations [DOU], and I will cause you to stop your sinful behavior.
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 When [the people of other] nations see that you have been humiliated, you will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].’”
So shalt thou be profaned in thyself, before the eyes of nations, Thus shalt thou know that, I, am Yahweh.
17 Yahweh [also] said to me,
Then came the word of Yahweh unto me, saying:
18 “You human, your Israeli people [MTY] have [useless] to me. They are [like] [MET] dross/slag to me. They are like [SIM] [worthless] copper, tin, iron, and lead that remains after silver is melted in [very hot] furnace.
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, this is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: Because you have all become [like] dross/slag, I will gather you in Jerusalem.
Therefore, Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, Because ye all are become dross, Therefore, behold me! gathering you into the midst of Jerusalem:
20 People [ore containing] silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin in a [very hot] furnace and melt them in a blazing [to burn up the impurities]. Similarly [SIM], I will gather you [inside Jerusalem], and because I am very angry with you, [what I will do will be as though] I am melting you.
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 [It will be as though] I will blow on you with a hot breath that shows that I am very angry, [it will be as though] you will be melted,
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 though you will be melted like [SIM] silver is melted in a furnace, and then you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my punishment [MTY] on you.”
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 Yahweh gave me another message. He said,
And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying:
24 “You human, say to the Israeli people, ‘[Yahweh] is angry with you, there has been no rain or showers in your country.’
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 Your leaders are like [SIM] lions that tear apart the animals that they have killed. Your leaders destroy their people. They steal treasures and [other] valuable things from people, and they cause many women to become [by murdering their husbands].
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 Their priests disobey my laws and disrespect my sacred things by saying that there is no difference between things that are sacred and those that are not sacred, and by ignoring my laws about honoring the Sabbath days. As a result, they no [longer] honor me.
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 Their officials are like [SIM] wolves that tear apart the animals that they have killed: They murder people [DOU] in order to get their money.
Her rulers within her have been like wolves, rending prey, - In shedding blood In destroying lives, For the sake of getting dishonest gain.
28 Their prophets, by falsely saying they have received [from God], and by giving false messages, try to (cover up [MET]/say that it is all right to commit) those sins. They say, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says,’ when I have said nothing to them.
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 Israeli people force others to give them money, and they rob people. They oppress poor [DOU] people, and they mistreat foreigners among them by not treating them [in the courts].
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 I looked among them to find a man who would cause the people of the city to repent [MET] so that I would not need to get rid of them. But I did not find anyone.
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 So because I am very angry with them, I will severely punish them [MTY] for [all] the wicked things that they have done. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh the Lord, have said it.”
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.
