Ezekiel 22

1 Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,2 And thou, son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? then cause her to know all her abominations.3 And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: A city that sheddeth blood in the midst of her, that her time may come, and that maketh idols against herself to defile her!4 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed, and art defiled in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the nations, and a mocking to all the countries.5 Those that are near, and those that are far from thee, shall mock thee, thou infamous one and full of tumult.6 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one according to his power, have been in thee to shed blood.7 In thee have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the sojourner; in thee have they wronged the fatherless and the widow.8 Thou hast despised my holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.9 Slanderous men have been in thee to shed blood; and in thee they have eaten upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they have committed lewdness.10 In thee have they uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; in thee have they humbled her that was unclean in her impurity.11 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father’s daughter.12 In thee have they taken bribes to shed blood; thou hast taken interest and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by oppression, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord Jehovah.13 Behold, therefore, I have smitten my hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.14 Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I, Jehovah, have spoken it, and will do it.15 And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee through the countries; and I will consume thy filthiness out of thee.16 And thou shalt be profaned in thyself, in the sight of the nations; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah.17 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,18 Son of man, the house of Israel is become dross unto me: all of them are brass and tin and iron and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are the dross of silver.19 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye are all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.20 As they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my wrath, and I will lay you there, and melt you.21 Yea, I will gather you, 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 the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have poured out my wrath upon you.23 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art a land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey: they have devoured souls; they take treasure and precious things; they have made her widows many in the midst thereof.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 hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.28 And her prophets have daubed for them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, when Jehovah hath not spoken.29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery; yea, they have vexed the poor and needy, and have oppressed the sojourner wrongfully.30 And I sought for a man among them, that should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I brought upon their heads, saith the Lord Jehovah.

EZEKIEL 22

Jerusalem Is Condemned

1 Some time later, the [Lord] said:
2 Ezekiel, son of man, are you ready to condemn Jerusalem? That city is filled with murderers, so remind the people of their sins

3 and tell them I am saying:
Jerusalem, you have murdered many of your own people and have worshiped idols. You will soon be punished! 4 Those crimes have made you guilty, and the idols have made you unacceptable to me. So your final punishment is near. Other nations will laugh at you and make insulting remarks,

5 and people far and near will make fun of your misery.
6 Your own leaders use their power to murder. 7 t None of you honor your parents, and you cheat foreigners, orphans, and widows. 8 t You show no respect for my sacred places and treat the Sabbath just like any other day. 9 Some of your own people tell lies, so that others will be put to death. Some of you eat meat sacrificed to idols at local shrines, and others never stop doing vulgar things. 10 t Men have sex with their father's wife or with women who are having their monthly period 11 or with someone else's wife. Some men even sleep with their own daughter-in-law or half sister.

12 t Others of you accept money to murder someone. Your own people charge high interest when making a loan to other Israelites, and they get rich by cheating. Worst of all, you have forgotten me, the [Lord] God.
13 I will shake my fist in anger at your violent crimes. 14 When I'm finished with you, your courage will disappear, and you will be so weak that you won't be able to lift your hands. I, the [Lord], have spoken and will not change my mind. 15 I will scatter you throughout every nation on earth and put a stop to your sinful ways.

16 Yout will be humiliated in the eyes of other nations. Then you will know that I, the [Lord] God, have done these things.

Jerusalem Must Be Purified

17 The [Lord] said:
18 Ezekiel, son of man, I consider the people of Israel as worthless as the leftover metal in a furnace after silver has been purified. 19 So I am going to bring them together in Jerusalem. 20-21 I will be like a metalworker who collects that metal from the furnace and melts it down. I will collect the Israelites and blow on them with my fiery anger. They will melt inside the city of Jerusalem

22 like silver in a furnace. Then they will know that I, the [Lord], have punished them in my anger.

Everyone in Jerusalem Is Guilty

23 The [Lord] said:
24 Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Israel that their country is full of sin, and that I, the [Lord], am furious!

25 Their leaders are liket roaring lions, tearing apart their victims. They put people to death, then steal everything of value. Husbands are killed, and many women are left as widows.

26  t The priests of Israel ignore my Law! Not only do they refuse to respect any of my sacred things, but they don't even teach the difference between what is sacred and what is ordinary or between what is clean and what is unclean. They treat my Sabbath like any other day, and so my own people no longer honor me.

27 Israel's officials are like ferocious wolves, ripping their victims apart. They make a dishonest living by injuring and killing people.
28 And then the prophets in Israel cover up these sins by giving false visions. I have never spoken to them, but they lie and say they have a message from me.

29 The people themselves cheat and rob; they abuse the poor and take advantage of foreigners.
30 I looked for someone to defend the city and to protect it from my anger, as well as to stop me from destroying it. But I found no one. 31 So in my fierce anger, I will punish the Israelites for what they have done, and they will know that I am furious. I, the [Lord], have spoken.