Ezekiel 22:1-31
Judgment on Jerusalem's Sins
1 The 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 practices 3 and 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, 4 you 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 laughingstock to all the countries. 5 Those 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. 7 In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the foreigner and mistreated the fatherless and the widow. 8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths. 9 In you are slanderers who are bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts. 10 In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed; in you are those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean. 11 In you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter. 12 In 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 neighbors. 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. 14 Will 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. 15 I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you through the countries; and I will put an end to your uncleanness. 16 When you have been defiled in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.’”
17 Then 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. 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem. 20 As 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. 21 I will gather you and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her. 22 As 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.’”
23 Again 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.’ 25 There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her. 26 Her 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. 27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. 28 Her 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. 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat 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 I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. 31 So 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.”
The word of the LORD came to me...He said, “Son of man, will you judge the city of murderers?...Will you tell her about all the terrible things she has done?...You must say, ‘This is what the LORD God says: The city is full of murderers, so her time of punishment will come...She made filthy idols for herself, and those idols made her filthy!...“‘People of Jerusalem, you killed many people...You made filthy idols...You are guilty, and the time has come to punish you...Your end has come...Other nations will make fun of you and laugh at you...People far and near will make fun of you...You have ruined your name...You are filled with confusion...“‘Look, all the leaders in Israel are using their strength just to kill other people...And the people in Jerusalem don’t respect their parents...There in the city, they abuse the foreigners...They cheat orphans and widows in that place...You hate all that I consider holy...You treat my special days of rest as if they are not important...In Jerusalem, people tell lies in order to kill innocent people...They go to the mountains to worship false gods and then come back to Jerusalem to eat their fellowship meals...
“‘In Jerusalem, people commit many sexual sins...There men commit sexual sins with their father’s wife...There the men rape women—even during their monthly time of bleeding...One man commits a terrible sin against his own neighbor’s wife...Another man has sex with his daughter-in-law and makes her unclean...Another man rapes his father’s daughter—his very own sister...There men accept bribes to kill people...You lend money and charge interest on the loans...You cheat your neighbors just to make a little money...You have even forgotten Me.’...This is what the LORD God said...
Again the word of the Lord came to me...He said, “Son of man, speak to Israel...Tell her that she is not pure...I AM angry at that country, so that country has not received its rain...The prophets in Jerusalem are making evil plans...They are like a lion—it roars when it begins to eat the animal it caught...They have destroyed many lives...They have taken many valuable things and made widows of many of the women in Jerusalem...“The priests have really hurt My teachings...They don’t treat my holy things right—they don’t show they are important...They treat holy things the same as things that are not holy...They treat clean things like things that are unclean...They don’t teach the people about these things...They refuse to respect my special days of rest...They treat me as though I am not important...“The leaders in Jerusalem are like a wolf eating the animal it has caught...They attack people and kill them just to get rich...
“The prophets don’t warn the people—they cover up the truth...They are like workers who don’t really repair a wall—they only put plaster over the holes...They only see lies...They do their magic to learn the future, but they only tell lies...They say, ‘This is what the LORD God said.’...But they are only lying—the LORD did not speak to them!...“The common people take advantage of each other...They cheat and steal from each other...They get rich by taking advantage of poor, helpless beggars, and they really cheat the foreigners...They are not fair to them at all!...“I asked the people to change their lives and protect their country...I asked people to fix the walls...I wanted them to stand by those holes in the wall and fight to protect their city...But no one came to help!...So I will show them My anger—I will completely destroy them...I will punish them for the evil things they have done. It is all their fault.”...This is what the LORD God said...