Jezekiel 22

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

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

2 And you, son of man, will you judge the bloody city? yes, declare you to her all her iniquities.

'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,

3 And you shall say, Thus says 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;

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.

4 in their blood which you have shed, you have transgressed; and in your devices which you have formed, you have polluted yourself; and you have brought near your days, and have brought on the time of your years: therefore have I made you a reproach to the Gentiles, and a mockery to all the countries,

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.

5 to those near you, and to those far distant from you; and they shall mock you, [you that are] notoriously unclean, and abundant in iniquities.

The near and the far-off from thee scoff at thee, O defiled of name — abounding in trouble.

6 Behold, the princes of the house of Israel have conspired in you each one with his kindred, that they might shed blood.

Lo, princes of Israel — each according to his arm Have been in thee to shed blood.

7 In you they have reviled father and mother; and in you they have behaved unjustly toward the stranger: they have oppressed the orphan and widow.

Father and mother made light of in thee, To a sojourner they dealt oppressively in thy midst, Fatherless and widow they oppressed in thee.

8 And they have set at nothing my holy things, and in you they have profaned my sabbaths.

My holy things thou hast despised, And My sabbaths thou hast polluted.

9 [There are] robbers in you, to shed blood in you; and in you they have eaten upon the mountains: they have wrought ungodliness in the midst of you.

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.

10 In you they have uncovered the father's shame; and in you they have humbled her that was set apart for uncleanness.

The nakedness of a father hath one uncovered in thee, The defiled of impurity they humbled in thee.

11 They have dealt unlawfully each one with his neighbor's wife; and each one in ungodliness has defiled his daughter-in-law: and in you they have humbled each one his sister, the daughter of his father.

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.

12 In you they have received gifts to shed blood; they have received in you interest and usurious increase; and by oppression you have brought your wickedness to the full, and have forgotten me, says the Lord.

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!

13 And if I shall strike my hand at [your iniquities] which you have accomplished, which you have wrought, and at your blood that has been shed in the midst of you,

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.

14 shall your heart endure? shall your hands be strong in the days which I bring upon you? I the Lord have spoken, and will do [it].

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].

15 And I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you in the countries, and your uncleanness shall be removed out of you.

And I have scattered thee among nations, And have spread thee out among lands, And consumed thy uncleanness out of thee.

16 And I will give heritages in you in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

And thou hast been polluted in thyself Before the eyes of nations, And thou hast known that I [am] Jehovah.'

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

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 'Son of man,

18 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.

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,

19 Therefore say, Thus says the Lord God; Because you have become one mixture, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of your all becoming dross, Therefore, lo, I am gathering you unto the midst of Jerusalem,

20 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.

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.

21 And I will blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst thereof.

And I have heaped you up, And blown on you in the fire of My wrath, And ye have been melted in its midst.

22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in the midst thereof; and you shall know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath upon you.

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.'

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

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

24 Son of man, say to her, You are the land that is not rained upon, neither has rain come upon you in the day of wrath;

'Son of man, say to it, Thou [art] a land, It [is] not cleansed nor rained on in a day of indignation.

25 whose princes in the midst of her are as roaring lions seizing prey, devouring souls by oppression, and taking bribes; and your widows are multiplied in the midst of you.

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.

26 Her priests also have set at nothing 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.

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.

27 Her princes in the midst of her are as wolves ravening to shed blood, that they may get dishonest gain.

Its princes in its midst [are] as wolves, Tearing prey, to shed blood, to destroy souls, For the sake of gaining dishonest gain.

28 And her prophets that daub them shall fall, that see vanities, that prophesy falsehoods, saying, Thus says the Lord, when the Lord has not spoken.

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.

29 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.

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.

30 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.

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.

31 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, says the Lord God.

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!'