Ezekiel 22:1-16

The Sins of Israel

¹Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then inform her of all her abominations. ³And you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “A city shedding blood in her midst, so that her time is coming; and a city that makes idols, contrary to her own good, for defilement! ⁴You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and you have become defiled by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your days closer and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a disgrace to the nations, and an object of mocking to all the lands. ⁵Those who are near and those who are far from you will make fun of you, you of ill repute, full of turmoil.

⁶“Behold, the rulers of Israel, each according to his power, have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood. ⁷They have treated father and mother with contempt among you. They have oppressed the stranger in your midst; they have oppressed the orphan and the widow among you. ⁸You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths. ⁹Slanderous men have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood, and among you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have committed outrageous sin. ¹⁰Among you they have uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; among you they have abused her who was unclean in her menstruation. ¹¹And one has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife, another has outrageously defiled his daughter-in-law, and another among you has sexually abused his sister, his father’s daughter. ¹²Among you they have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest, you have injured your neighbors by oppression, and you have forgotten Me,” declares the Lord God.

¹³“Behold, then, I strike with My hand your profit which you have made and the bloodshed which is among you. ¹⁴Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days that I will deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken and will act. ¹⁵And I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among the lands, and I will eliminate your uncleanness from you. ¹⁶Then you will defile yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”