Ezekiel 22
1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,
A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
2 'And thou, son of man, dost thou judge? dost thou judge the city of blood? then thou hast caused it to know all its 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 and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The city is shedding blood in its midst, For the coming in of its time, And it hath made idols on it for defilement.
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 By thy blood that thou hast shed thou hast been guilty, And by thine idols that thou hast made thou hast been defiled, And thou causest thy days to draw near, And art come in unto thine years, Therefore I have given thee a reproach to nations, And 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 The near and the far-off from thee scoff at thee, O defiled of name — abounding in trouble.
People far and near will laugh at you, you corrupt city full of confusion!
6 Lo, princes of Israel — each according to his arm Have been in thee to shed blood.
Look at how all of your leaders in Israel use their power to murder.
7 Father and mother made light of in thee, To a sojourner they dealt oppressively in thy midst, Fatherless and widow they oppressed in thee.
You despise your parents. You exploit the foreigners who live with you, and you mistreat orphans and widows.
8 My holy things thou hast despised, And My sabbaths thou hast polluted.
You detest my holy things and violate my Sabbaths.
9 Men of slander have been in thee to shed blood, And on the mountains they have eaten in thee, Wickedness they have done in thy midst.
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 The nakedness of a father hath one uncovered in thee, The defiled of impurity 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 each with the wife of his neighbour hath done abomination, And each his daughter-in-law hath defiled through wickedness, And each his sister, his father's daughter, 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 A bribe they have taken in thee to shed blood, Usury and increase thou hast taken, And cuttest off thy neighbour by oppression, And Me thou hast forgotten, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!
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 And lo, I have smitten My hand, Because of thy dishonest gain that thou hast gained, And for thy blood that hath been in thy midst.
So watch out! I clap my hands in condemnation at your dishonest profiteering and at all your murders.
14 Doth thy heart stand — are thy hands strong, For the days that I am dealing with thee? I, Jehovah, have spoken and have done [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 And I have scattered thee among nations, And have spread thee out among lands, And consumed thy uncleanness 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 And thou hast been polluted in thyself Before the eyes of nations, And thou hast known that I [am] Jehovah.'
For when everyone else sees how you've made yourselves unclean, then you will acknowledge that I am the Lord.”
17 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 'Son of man,
A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
18 The house of Israel hath been to Me for dross, All of them [are] brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, In the midst of a furnace — dross hath silver been,
“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 said the Lord Jehovah: Because of your all becoming dross, Therefore, lo, I am gathering you unto 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 A gathering of silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, Unto the midst of a furnace — to blow on it fire, to melt it, So do I gather in Mine anger and in My fury, And I have let rest, and have melted 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 And I have heaped you up, And blown on you in the fire of My wrath, And ye have been melted in its midst.
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 the melting of silver in the midst of a furnace, So are ye melted in its midst, And ye have known that I, Jehovah, I have poured out My fury 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 there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:
Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
24 'Son of man, say to it, Thou [art] a land, It [is] not cleansed nor rained on in a 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 A conspiracy of its prophets [is] in its midst, as a roaring lion tearing prey; The soul they have devoured, Wealth and glory they have taken, Its widows have multiplied in its 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 Its priests have wronged My law, And they pollute My holy things, Between holy and common they have not made separation, And between the unclean and the clean they have not made known, And from my sabbaths they have hidden their eyes, And I am pierced 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 Its princes in its midst [are] as wolves, Tearing prey, to shed blood, to destroy souls, For the sake of gaining dishonest gain.
Her city officials are like wolves ripping up their prey, killing people, destroying lives so they can profit through fraud.
28 And its prophets have daubed for them with chalk, Seeing a vain thing, and divining for them a lie, Saying, 'Thus said the Lord Jehovah:' And Jehovah 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 used oppression, And have taken plunder violently away, And humble and needy have oppressed, And the sojourner oppressed — without judgment.
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 And I seek of them a man making a fence, And standing in the breach before Me, In behalf of the land — not to destroy it, And I have not found.
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 And I pour out on them mine indignation, By fire of My wrath I have consumed them, Their way on their own head I have put, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'
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.”
