Ezekiel 22
1 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 “Now you, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the city of blood? Make her know all her abominations.
And thou son of man, dost thou not judge, dost thou not judge the city of blood?
3 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.
And thou shalt shew her all her abominations, and shalt say: Thus saith the Lord God: This is the city that sheddeth blood in the midst of her, that her time may come: and that hath made idols against herself, to defile herself.
4 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.
Thou art become guilty in thy blood which thou hast shed: and thou art defiled in thy idols which thou hast made: and thou hast made thy days to draw near, and hast brought on the time of thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach to the Gentiles, and a mockery to all countries.
5 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.
Those that are near, and those that are far from thee, shall triumph over thee: thou filthy one, infamous, great in destruction.
6 Behold! The rulers of Israel, each one by his own power, have come to you to pour out blood.
Behold the princes of Israel, every one hath employed his arm in thee to shed blood.
7 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.
They have abused father and mother in thee, they have oppressed the stranger in the midst of thee, they have grieved the fatherless and widow in thee.
8 You have despised my holy things and have profaned my Sabbaths.
Thou hast despised my sanctuaries, and profaned my sabbaths.
9 Slanderous men have come within you in order to pour out blood, and they eat on the mountains. They perform wickedness in your midst.
Slanderers have been in thee to shed blood, and they have eaten upon the mountains in thee, they have committed wickedness in the midst of thee.
10 Within you men uncover the nakedness of their father. Within you they have violated unclean women during their menstrual period.
They have discovered the nakedness of their father in thee, they have humbled the uncleanness of the menstruous woman in thee.
11 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.
And every one hath committed abomination with his neighbour’s wife, and the father in law hath wickedly defiled his daughter in law, the brother hath oppressed his sister the daughter of his father in thee.
12 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.
They have taken gifts in thee to shed blood: thou hast taken usury and increase, and hast covetously oppressed thy neighbours: and then hast forgotten me, saith the Lord God.
13 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.
Behold, I have clapped my hands at thy covetousness, which thou hast exercised and at the blood that hath been shed: In the midst of thee.
14 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.
Shall thy heart endure, or shall thy hands prevail ill the days which I will bring upon thee: I the Lord have spoken, and will do it.
15 So I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the lands. In this way, I will purge your uncleanness from you.
And I will disperse thee in the nations, and will scatter thee among the countries, and I will put an end to thy uncleanness in thee.
16 So you will become unclean in the eyes of the nations. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.'”
And I will possess thee in the sight of the Gentiles, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
17 Next the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
18 “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.
Son of man, the house of Israel is become dress to me: all these are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace: they are become the dress of silver.
19 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.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because you are all turned into dress, therefore behold I will gather you together in the midst of Jerusalem.
20 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.
As they gather silver, and brass, and tin, and iron, and lead in the midst of the furnace: that I may kindle a fire in it to melt it: so will I gather you together in my fury and in my wrath, and will take my rest, and I will melt you down.
21 I will gather you and blow on you the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it.
And I will gather you together, and will burn you in the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst thereof.
22 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!'”
As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall you be in the midst thereof: and you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have poured out my indignation upon you.
23 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
24 “Son of man, say to her, 'You are a land that has not been cleansed. There is no rain on the day of wrath!
Son of man, say to her: Thou art a land that is unclean, and not rained upon in the day of wrath.
25 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!
There is a conspiracy of prophets in the midst thereof: like a lion that roareth and catcheth the prey, they have devoured souls, they have taken riches and hire, they have made many widows in the midst thereof.
26 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.
Her priests have despised my law, and have defiled my sanctuaries: they have put no difference between holy and profane: nor have distinguished between the polluted and the clean: and they have turned away their eyes from my sabbaths, and I was profaned in the midst of them.
27 Her princes within her are like wolves tearing apart their victims. They pour out blood and destroy life, to make a profit dishonestly.
Her princes in the midst of her, are like wolves ravening the prey to shed blood, and to destroy souls, and to run after gains through covetousness.
28 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.
And her prophets have daubed them without tempering the mortar, seeing vain things, and divining lies unto them, saying: Thus saith the Lord God: when the Lord hath not spoken.
29 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.
The people of the land have used oppression, and committed robbery: they afflicted the needy and poor, and they oppressed the stranger by calumny without judgment.
30 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.
And I sought among them for a man that might set up a hedge, and stand in the gap before me in favour of the land, that I might not destroy it: and I found none.
31 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.'”
And I poured out my indignation upon them, in the fire of my wrath I consumed them: I have rendered their way upon their own head, saith the Lord God.
