Ezekiel

Contains visions and prophecies of judgment and restoration for Israel and the nations.

Chapter 22

1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

*Additionally, the LORD's message reached me, stating,

2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.

*Now, you, human, will you judge, will you judge the city filled with bloodshed? Yes, you must show her all her terrible actions.

3 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself.

*Then say, "The Lord God says, The city has bloodshed within it, so its time will come, and it makes idols to dirty itself."

4 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries.

*You are guilty for the blood you've shed, and for making idols. Your days are almost over, and you're close to your years. So, I've made you a laughingstock among nations and a joke to all countries.

5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.

*People close to and far away from you will make fun of you because you are disgraced and very troubled.

6 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.

*Look, all the leaders of Israel had great power to kill while they were with you.

7 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.

*In you, they have used light from parents. In the center of you, they have treated strangers unfairly. In you, they have bothered the childless fathers and widows.

8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.

*You have disregarded my sacred things and disrespected my special days.

9 In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness.

*In you, there are people who tell stories to cause violence: and in you, they eat food in the mountains: in your center, they do immoral acts.

10 In thee have they discovered their fathers’ nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.

*In you, they found their ancestors' shameful act: in you, they have dishonored the one set apart for impurity.

11 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour’s wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father’s daughter.

*Someone did a very bad thing with their neighbor's wife. Another person did something wrong with their daughter-in-law. And another person mistreated their sister, who is also their father's daughter, in your group.

12 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.

*In you, people have given gifts to cause harm; you have taken interest and profits, taking more from your neighbors through force, and you have forgotten me, says the Lord God.

13 Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.

*Look, so I've punished my own hand for your unfair gains and for the blood you've had in your midst.

14 Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it.

*Can your heart remain strong, or can your hands be powerful, during the times when I will act towards you? I am the Lord, and I have spoken this, and I will make it happen.

15 And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.

*I will take you to different nations and spread you out in various lands, and remove your impurity from you.

16 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

*You will claim your inheritance before the people who don't believe, and you will understand that I am the LORD.

17 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

*And God spoke to me through His message.

18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.

*Son of man, the people of Israel seem worthless to me. They are like impure metals—brass, tin, iron, and lead—in a hot furnace. They are just the waste from refining silver.

19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

*So, God says this: Since you've all turned worthless, I'll bring you together in the center of Jerusalem.

20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.

*Just like they collect metals like silver, brass, iron, lead, and tin, and put them into a furnace to heat them up until they melt, I will also bring you together in my anger and rage. Then, I will leave you there and let you melt away.

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

*Yes, I will bring you together, and blow a strong wind of anger on you, and you will become like liquid in that fiery rage.

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

*Just like how silver melts in a furnace's center, you will also be melted there. You will understand that I, the Lord, have released my anger on you.

23 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

*And God spoke to me through his message.

24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.

*Son, tell her: You are the unclean land not purified or rained on during the angry day.

25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

*In the middle of her, her prophets secretly work together like a loud roaring lion tearing its food apart. They have eaten up people's spirits, taken treasures and valuable things, and caused many women to lose their husbands in that place.

26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

*Her priests broke my rules and desecrated my sacred things. They didn't separate the holy from the unholy or the clean from the unclean. They also ignored my special days, and this has made me impure among them.

27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

*In the middle of her, her leaders act like hungry wolves tearing apart their prey. They cause a lot of harm, destroying souls for greedy gains.

28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.

*The prophets told them false messages using unfinished plaster, pretending to be God, when God didn't actually say anything.

29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.

*The people on the land have been unfair, stolen, and bothered those with less; even hurting travelers unjustly.

30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

*I looked for someone to fix the wall and stand in the way to protect the land from being destroyed, but I couldn't find anyone.

31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.

*So, I've expressed my displeasure towards them; I've punished them with the intensity of my anger using fire. I've returned their actions to them, says the Lord God.

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