Ezekiel 22

1 Yahweh gave me another message. He said,

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

2 “You human, are you ready to condemn the people of Jerusalem? It is [RHQ] a city full of murderers [MTY]. Remind them of all the detestable things that they have done.

'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 [Then] say, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: By your murdering people and by (defiling yourselves/making yourselves unacceptable to God) by making idols, you people of this city [APO] have brought to yourselves the time when you [will be destroyed].

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 You have become guilty by doing both of those things [DOU]. You have brought to an end your time [to remain alive] [DOU]. Therefore I will cause you to become a group whom the [people of other] nations will scorn; they will all laugh at you [DOU].

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 People in countries that are near you and people who live far from you will make fun of you, because your city is full of lawless people and full of confusion.

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

6 Think about how each of your Israeli kings have used their power to cause people to be murdered [MTY].

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

7 Your people do not respect/honor their parents; they have oppressed foreigners; they mistreat orphans and widows.

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 You despise my sacred places and (dishonor/do not respect) the Sabbath days.

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

9 Among you are men who tell lies in order to cause others to be executed [MTY]. There are those who [food offered to idols] at the hilltop [shrines], and they perform disgusting sexual acts.

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 There are men who have sex with their father’s wives [EUP], and men who have sex with women during their monthly menstrual periods.

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

11 There are men who have sex with someone else’s wife. Some men have sex with their daughters-in-law or with their sisters or half-sisters.

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 There are among you men who accept bribes in order to cause someone to be executed [MTY]. You charge high interest when you lend people money. You become rich by forcing people to give you money. [the worst thing is that] you have forgotten me, Yahweh 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 So I will shake my fists at you to show that I am angry with you because of your stealing money from people and murdering [MTY] people who live among 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 When I [punishing] you, you will no longer [RHQ] be courageous/brave [DOU]. I, Yahweh, have said [what I will do to you], and I 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 I will cause you to be scattered among many nations [DOU], and I will cause you to stop your sinful behavior.

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

16 When [the people of other] nations see that you have been humiliated, you will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].’”

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

17 Yahweh [also] said to me,

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

18 “You human, your Israeli people [MTY] have [useless] to me. They are [like] [MET] dross/slag to me. They are like [SIM] [worthless] copper, tin, iron, and lead that remains after silver is melted in [very hot] furnace.

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, this is what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: Because you have all become [like] dross/slag, I will gather you in 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 People [ore containing] silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin in a [very hot] furnace and melt them in a blazing [to burn up the impurities]. Similarly [SIM], I will gather you [inside Jerusalem], and because I am very angry with you, [what I will do will be as though] I am melting 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 [It will be as though] I will blow on you with a hot breath that shows that I am very angry, [it will be as though] you will be melted,

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 though you will be melted like [SIM] silver is melted in a furnace, and then you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my punishment [MTY] on 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 Yahweh gave me another message. He said,

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

24 “You human, say to the Israeli people, ‘[Yahweh] is angry with you, there has been no rain or showers in your country.’

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

25 Your leaders are like [SIM] lions that tear apart the animals that they have killed. Your leaders destroy their people. They steal treasures and [other] valuable things from people, and they cause many women to become [by murdering their husbands].

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 Their priests disobey my laws and disrespect my sacred things by saying that there is no difference between things that are sacred and those that are not sacred, and by ignoring my laws about honoring the Sabbath days. As a result, they no [longer] honor me.

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 Their officials are like [SIM] wolves that tear apart the animals that they have killed: They murder people [DOU] in order to get their money.

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

28 Their prophets, by falsely saying they have received [from God], and by giving false messages, try to (cover up [MET]/say that it is all right to commit) those sins. They say, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says,’ when I have said nothing to them.

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 The Israeli people force others to give them money, and they rob people. They oppress poor [DOU] people, and they mistreat foreigners among them by not treating them [in the courts].

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 I looked among them to find a man who would cause the people of the city to repent [MET] so that I would not need to get rid of them. But I did not find anyone.

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 because I am very angry with them, I will severely punish them [MTY] for [all] the wicked things that they have done. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh the Lord, have said it.”

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!'