Ezekiel 22
1 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 “Now you, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the city of blood? Make her know all her abominations.
And thou, son of man, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, declare thou to her all her iniquities.
3 You must say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: This is a city that pours out blood in her midst so that her time may come; a city that makes idols to make herself unclean.
And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord God: O city that sheds blood in the midst of her, so that her time should come, and that forms devices against herself, to defile herself;
4 You have become guilty by the blood that you have poured out, and you have become unclean by the idols that you have made. You have drawn your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you a reproach to the nations and a laughingstock to all the lands.
in their blood which thou hast shed, thou hast transgressed; and in thy devices which thou hast formed, thou hast polluted thyself; and thou hast brought nigh thy days, and hast brought on the time of thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach to the Gentiles, and a mockery to all the countries,
5 Both those who are near and those who are far away from you will mock you—you unclean city—with the reputation known everywhere as being full of confusion.
to those near thee, and to those far distant from thee; and they shall mock thee, [thou that art] notoriously unclean, and abundant in iniquities.
6 Behold! The rulers of Israel, each one by his own power, have come to you to pour out blood.
Behold, the princes of the house of Israel have conspired in thee each one with his kindred, that they might shed blood.
7 They have dishonored fathers and mothers within you, and they have performed oppression on the foreigners in your midst. They have mistreated the orphans and the widows within you.
In thee they have reviled father and mother; and in thee they have behaved unjustly toward the stranger: they have oppressed the orphan and widow.
8 You have despised my holy things and have profaned my Sabbaths.
And they have set at nought my holy things, and in thee they have profaned my sabbaths.
9 Slanderous men have come within you in order to pour out blood, and they eat on the mountains. They perform wickedness in your midst.
[There are] robbers in thee, to shed blood in thee; and in thee they have eaten upon the mountains: they have wrought ungodliness in the midst of thee.
10 Within you men uncover the nakedness of their father. Within you they have violated unclean women during their menstrual period.
In thee they have uncovered the father's shame; and in thee they have humbled her that was set apart for uncleanness.
11 Men who commit abominations with their neighbors' wives, and men who make their own daughters-in-law shamefully unclean; men who abuse their own sisters—daughters of their own fathers—all these are done within you.
They have dealt unlawfully each one with his neighbor's wife; and each one in ungodliness has defiled his daughter-in-law: and in thee they have humbled each one his sister, the daughter of his father.
12 These men take bribes within you in order to pour out blood and you have taken interest and gained too much profit, and you have damaged your neighbors through oppression, and you have forgotten me—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.
In thee they have received gifts to shed blood; they have received in thee interest and usurious increase; and by oppression thou hast brought thy wickedness to the full, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord.
13 See! With my hand I have struck the dishonest gain that you have made, and the bloodshed that is done in the midst of you.
And if I shall smite my hand at [thine iniquities] which thou hast accomplished, which thou hast wrought, and at thy blood that has been shed in the midst of thee,
14 Will your heart stand, will your hands be strong on the days when I myself will deal with you? I, Yahweh, am declaring this, and I will do it.
shall thy heart endure? shall thine hands be strong in the days which I bring upon thee? I the Lord have spoken, and will do [it].
15 So I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the lands. In this way, I will purge your uncleanness from you.
And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee in the countries, and thy uncleanness shall be removed out of thee.
16 So you will become unclean in the eyes of the nations. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.'”
And I will give heritages in thee in the sight of the nations, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
17 Next the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are the leftovers of bronze and tin, and iron and lead in the midst of you. They will be like the dross of silver in your furnace.
Son of man, behold, the house of Israel are all become to me [as it were] mixed with brass, and iron, and tin, and lead; they are mixed up in the midst of the silver.
19 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Because all of you have become like dross, therefore, behold! I am about to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have become one mixture, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20 As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead and tin and put it inside a furnace to melt it, and they blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and my wrath, and I will put you there and melt you.
As silver, and brass, and iron, and tin, and lead, are gathered into the midst of the furnace, to blow fire into it, that they may be melted: so will I take [you] in my wrath, and I will gather and melt you.
21 I will gather you and blow on you the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it.
And I will blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.
22 As silver is melted in a furnace, you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my wrath on you!'”
As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath upon you.
23 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
24 “Son of man, say to her, 'You are a land that has not been cleansed. There is no rain on the day of wrath!
Son of man, say to her, Thou art the land that is not rained upon, neither has rain come upon thee in the day of wrath;
25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing apart a victim. They consume life and take precious wealth; they make many widows within her!
whose princes in the midst of her are as roaring lions seizing prey, devouring souls by oppression, and taking bribes; and thy widows are multiplied in the midst of thee.
26 Her priests do violence to my law, and they profane my holy things. They do not distinguish between holy things and profane things, and do not teach the difference between the unclean and the clean. They hide their eyes from my Sabbaths so that I am profaned in their midst.
Her priests also have set at nought my law, and profaned my holy things: they have not distinguished between the holy and profane, nor have they distinguished between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I was profaned in the midst of them.
27 Her princes within her are like wolves tearing apart their victims. They pour out blood and destroy life, to make a profit dishonestly.
Her princes in the midst of her are as wolves ravening to shed blood, that they may get dishonest gain.
28 Her prophets have painted them over with whitewash; they see false visions and predict falsehoods to them. They say “The Lord Yahweh says this” when Yahweh has not spoken.
And her prophets that daub them shall fall, that see vanities, that prophesy falsehoods, saying, Thus saith the Lord, when the Lord has not spoken.
29 The people of the land have oppressed through extortion and plundered through robbery, and they mistreat the poor and needy, and oppress the foreigner without justice.
That sorely oppress the people of the land with injustice, and commit robbery; oppressing the poor and needy, and not dealing justly with the stranger.
30 So I searched for a man from them who would build up a wall and who would stand before me in its breach for the land so I would not destroy it, but I found no one.
And I sought from among them a man behaving uprightly, and standing before me perfectly in the time of wrath, so that I should not utterly destroy her: but I found [him] not.
31 So I will pour out my indignation upon them. I will finish them with the fire of my indignation and set their way on their own heads—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'”
So I have poured out my wrath upon her in the fury of mine anger, to accomplish [it]. I have recompensed their ways on their own heads, saith the Lord God.
