Ezekiel 22

The Sins of Jerusalem

22Now this message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H5592“Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Publicly denounce her detestable sins,H1121H120H8199H8199H1818H5892H3045H84413and give her this message from the Sovereign Lord: O city of murderers, doomed and damned—city of idols①, filthy and foul—/ ①The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung; also in 22.4.H559H559H136H3069H5892H8210H1818H8432H6256H935H6213H1544H29304you are guilty because of the blood you have shed. You are defiled because of the idols you have made. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world.H816H1818H8210H2930H1544H6213H3117H7126H935H8141H5414H2781H1471H7048H7765O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people far and near.H7138H7350H7046H2931H8034H7227H41036“Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder.H5387H3478H376H2220H8210H18187Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you.H7043H1H517H8432H6213H6233H1616H3238H3490H4908You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest.H959H6944H2490H76769People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things.H582H7400H8210H1818H398H2022H8432H6213H215410Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and have intercourse with women who are menstruating.H1540H1H6172H6031H5079H293111Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters-in-law, or who rape their own sisters.H376H6213H8441H7453H802H376H2154H2930H3618H376H6031H269H1H132312There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign Lord.H3947H7810H8210H1818H3947H5392H8636H1214H7453H6233H7911H5002H136H306913“But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.H5221H3709H1215H6213H1818H843214How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I said.H3820H5975H3027H2388H3117H6213H3068H1696H621315I will scatter you among the nations and purge you of your wickedness.H6327H1471H2219H776H8552H293216And when I have been dishonored among the nations because of you

, you will know that I am the Lord.”H2490H5157H5869H1471H3045H3068

The Lord’s Refining Furnace

17Then this message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H55918“Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over—a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead.H1121H120H1004H3478H5509H5178H913H1270H5777H8432H3564H5509H370119So tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem.H559H136H3069H5509H6908H8432H338920Just as copper, iron, lead, and tin are melted down in a furnace, I will melt you down in the heat of my fury.H6910H3701H5178H1270H5777H913H8432H3564H5301H784H5413H6908H639H2534H3240H541321I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you,H3664H5301H784H5678H5413H843222and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my fury on you.’”H3701H2046H8432H3564H5413H8432H3045H3068H8210H2534

The Sins of Israel’s Leaders

23Again a message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H55924“Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: In the day of my indignation, you will be like a polluted land, a land without rain.H1121H120H559H776H2891H1656H3117H219525Your princes

plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They make many widows in the land.H7195H5030H8432H7580H738H2963H2964H398H5315H3947H2633H3366H7235H490H843226Your priests have violated my instructions and defiled my holy things. They make no distinction between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that I am dishonored among them.H3548H2554H8451H2490H6944H914H6944H2455H3045H2931H2889H5956H5869H7676H2490H843227Your leaders are like wolves who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money!H8269H7130H2061H2963H2964H8210H1818H6H5315H1214H121528And your prophets cover up for them by announcing false visions and making lying predictions. They say, ‘My message is from the Sovereign Lord,’ when the Lord hasn’t spoken a single word to them.H5030H2902H8602H2374H7723H7080H3577H559H559H136H3069H3068H169629Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice.H5971H776H6231H6233H1497H1498H3238H6041H34H6231H1616H494130“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.H1245H376H1443H1447H5975H6556H6440H776H7843H467231So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”H8210H2195H3615H784H5678H1870H5414H7218H5002H136H3069