Ezekiel 22

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Moreover the word of YHWH came to me, saying,

2 And thou son of man, dost thou not judge, dost thou not judge the city of blood?

"You, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.

3 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.

You shall say, 'Thus says YHWH: "Woe to the city that sheds blood in the midst of her, so that her time may come, and that makes idols against herself to defile her.

4 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.

You have become guilty in your blood that you have shed, and are defiled in your idols which you have made; and you have caused your days to draw near, and have come even to your years: therefore have I made you a reproach to the nations, and a mocking to all the countries.

5 Those that are near, and those that are far from thee, shall triumph over thee: thou filthy one, infamous, great in destruction.

Those who are near, and those who are far from you, shall mock you, you infamous one and full of tumult.

6 Behold the princes of Israel, every one hath employed his arm in thee to shed blood.

"'"Look, the princes of Israel, everyone according to his power, have been in you to shed blood.

7 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.

In you have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of you have they dealt by oppression with the foreigner; in you have they wronged the fatherless and the widow.

8 Thou hast despised my sanctuaries, and profaned my sabbaths.

You have despised my holy things, and have profaned my Sabbaths.

9 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.

Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood; and in you they have eaten on the mountains: in the midst of you they have committed lewdness.

10 They have discovered the nakedness of their father in thee, they have humbled the uncleanness of the menstruous woman in thee.

In you have they uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in you have they humbled her who was unclean in her impurity.

11 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.

One has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife; and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in you has humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

12 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.

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 YHWH.

13 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.

"'"Look, therefore, I have struck my hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at your blood which has been in the midst of you.

14 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.

Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I, YHWH, have spoken it, and will do it.

15 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.

I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you through the countries; and I will consume your filthiness out of you.

16 And I will possess thee in the sight of the Gentiles, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.

You shall be profaned in yourself, in the sight of the nations; and you shall know that I am YHWH."'"

17 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

The word of YHWH came to me, saying,

18 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.

"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 midst of the furnace; they are the dross of silver.

19 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.

Therefore thus says YHWH: 'Because you have all become dross, therefore, look, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

20 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.

As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire on it, to melt it; so will I gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will lay you there, and melt you.

21 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.

Yes, I will gather you, and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.

22 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.

As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so you will be melted in its midst; and you will know that I, YHWH, have poured out my wrath on you.'"

23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

The word of YHWH came to me, saying,

24 Son of man, say to her: Thou art a land that is unclean, and not rained upon in the day of wrath.

"Son of man, tell her, 'You are a land that is not cleansed, nor rained on in the day of indignation,'

25 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.

whose princes within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey: they have devoured souls; they take treasure and precious things; they have made her widows many in its midst.

26 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.

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, and I am profaned among them.

27 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.

Her princes in its midst 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 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.

Her prophets have plastered for them with whitewash, seeing false visions, and divining lies to them, saying, 'Thus says YHWH,' when YHWH has not spoken.

29 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.

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.

30 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.

"And I searched for a man among them who would 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 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.

Therefore have I poured out my indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I brought on their heads, says YHWH."