1The word of the Lord came to me:2‘Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her detestable practices3and say: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: you city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols,4you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughing-stock to all the countries.5Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, you infamous city, full of turmoil.6‘ “See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood.7In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the foreigner and ill-treated the fatherless and the widow.8You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.9In you are slanderers who are bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts.10In you are those who dishonour their father’s bed; in you are those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean.11In you one man commits a detestable offence with his neighbour’s wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.12In you are people who accept bribes to shed blood; you take interest and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbours. And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign Lord.13‘ “I will surely strike my hands together at the unjust gain you have made and at the blood you have shed in your midst.14Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.15I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you through the countries; and I will put an end to your uncleanness.16When you have been defiled[1] in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.” ’17Then the word of the Lord came to me:18‘Son of man, the people of Israel have become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver.19Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem.20As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you.21I will gather you and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her.22As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath on you.” ’23Again the word of the Lord came to me:24‘Son of man, say to the land, “You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the day of wrath.”25There is a conspiracy of her princes[2] within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her.26Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.27Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain.28Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says” – when the Lord has not spoken.29The people of the land practise extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and ill-treat the foreigner, denying them justice.30‘I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it, but I found no-one.31So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.’
Ezekiel 22
English Standard Version
Israel’s Shedding of Blood
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,2“And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations. (2Ki 21:16; Eze 2:1; Eze 7:23; Eze 16:2; Eze 16:38; Eze 20:4; Eze 23:37; Eze 24:6)3You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself! (Eze 21:25; Eze 21:29)4You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of[1] your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. (Eze 5:14; Eze 22:2; Eze 22:3)5Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult. (Isa 1:21; Isa 22:2)6“Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. (Eze 22:27)7Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. (Ex 20:12; Ex 22:21; De 27:16; Eph 6:2)8You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. (Eze 20:13; Eze 22:26)9There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst. (Le 19:16; 1Sa 22:9; Eze 16:43; Eze 18:6)10In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. (Le 18:7; Le 20:11)11One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter. (Le 18:9; Le 18:15; Le 18:20; Le 20:12; Le 20:17; Jer 5:8; Eze 18:6; Am 2:7)12In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit[2] and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord God. (De 27:25; Jer 2:32; Eze 18:8; Eze 23:35)13“Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst. (Eze 21:14; Eze 21:17; Eze 22:2; Eze 22:27)14Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. (Eze 17:24; Eze 21:7)15I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. (Eze 5:10; Eze 22:21; Eze 24:11)16And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” (Eze 5:8; Eze 6:7; Eze 7:24; Eze 22:26)17And the word of the Lord came to me:18“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. (Ps 119:119; Isa 1:22; Isa 1:25; Jer 6:28; Eze 2:1)19Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.20As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. (Jer 33:5; Eze 21:31; Mal 3:3)21I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it.22As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; I have poured out my wrath upon you.” (Eze 7:8)23And the word of the Lord came to me:24“Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation. (1Ki 8:35; Eze 22:2; Eze 34:26)25The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. (Jer 11:9; Eze 19:3; Eze 22:27)26Her 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 taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. (Le 10:10; Jer 17:22; Jer 17:24; Jer 17:27; Eze 22:8; Eze 36:20; Zep 3:4; Mal 2:8)27Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. (Eze 22:6; Eze 22:13; Eze 22:25; Mic 3:1; Zep 3:3; Mt 7:15)28And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. (Eze 13:6; Eze 13:10)29The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. (Eze 22:7)30And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. (Isa 59:16; Jer 5:1; Eze 13:5)31Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.” (Eze 7:4; Eze 22:21)