Ezekiel 22
1 Moreover the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
2 “You, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the bloody city? Then 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 You shall say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “A city that sheds blood within herself, that her time may come, and that makes idols against herself to defile her!
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 You have become guilty in your blood that you have shed, and are defiled in your idols which you have made! You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mocking to all the countries.
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 Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you infamous one, full of tumult.
People far and near will laugh at you, you corrupt city full of confusion!
6 “‘“Behold, the princes of Israel, everyone according to his power, have been in you to shed blood.
Look at how all of your leaders in Israel use their power to murder.
7 In you have they treated father and mother with contempt. Among you they have oppressed the foreigner. In you they have wronged the fatherless and the widow.
You despise your parents. You exploit the foreigners who live with you, and you mistreat orphans and widows.
8 You have despised my holy things, and have profaned my Sabbaths.
You detest my holy things and violate my Sabbaths.
9 Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood. In you they have eaten on the mountains. They have committed lewdness among you.
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 In you have they uncovered their fathers’ nakedness. In you have they humbled her who was unclean in her impurity.
Some of those living in the city have sex with their father's wives or with women during their period.
11 One has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife, and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law. Another in you has humbled his sister, his father’s daughter.
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 In you have they taken bribes to shed blood. You have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by oppression, and have forgotten me,” says the Lord GOD.
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 “‘“Behold, therefore I have struck my hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at the blood which has been shed within you.
So watch out! I clap my hands in condemnation at your dishonest profiteering and at all your murders.
14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I will deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken it, and will do it.
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 I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you through the countries. I will purge your filthiness out of you.
I'm going to scatter you among the nations and the different countries. I will put a stop to your unclean acts.
16 You will be profaned in yourself in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”’”
For when everyone else sees how you've made yourselves unclean, then you will acknowledge that I am the Lord.”
17 The LORD’s word came to me, saying,
A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the middle of the furnace. They are the dross of silver.
“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 the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the middle 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, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the middle of the furnace, to blow the fire on it, to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will lay you there and 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 Yes, I will gather you, and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in the middle of it.
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 the middle of the furnace, so you will be melted in the middle of it; and you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my wrath on 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 The LORD’s word came to me, saying,
Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
24 “Son of man, tell her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed nor rained on 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 There is a conspiracy of her prophets within it, like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured souls. They take treasure and precious things. They have made many widows within it.
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. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hidden their eyes from my Sabbaths. So I am profaned among them.
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 princes within it are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.
Her city officials are like wolves ripping up their prey, killing people, destroying lives so they can profit through fraud.
28 Her prophets have plastered for them with whitewash, seeing false visions, and divining lies to them, saying, ‘The Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has 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 used oppression and exercised robbery. Yes, they have troubled the poor and needy, and have oppressed the foreigner wrongfully.
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 “I sought for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.
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 I have poured out my indignation on them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have brought their own way on their heads,” says the Lord GOD.
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.”
