22:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, 1 are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? 2 Then confront her with all her abominable deeds! 22:3 Then say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: O city, who spills blood within herself (which brings on her doom), 3 and who makes herself idols (which results in impurity), 22:4 you are guilty because of the blood you shed and defiled by the idols you made. You have hastened the day of your doom; 4 the end of your years has come. 5 Therefore I will make 6 you an object of scorn to the nations, an object to be mocked by all lands. 22:5 Those both near and far from you will mock you, you with your bad reputation, 7 full of turmoil.
22:6 “‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood. 8 22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt 9 within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow 10 within you. 22:8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths! 22:9 Slanderous men shed blood within you. 11 Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains; 12 they commit obscene acts among you. 13 22:10 They have sex with their father’s wife within you; 14 they violate women during their menstrual period within you. 15 22:11 One 16 commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates 17 his sister – his father’s daughter 18 – within you. 22:12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; 19 you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, 20 declares the sovereign Lord. 21
22:13 “‘See, I strike my hands together 22 at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed 23 they have done among you. 22:14 Can your heart endure, 24 or can your hands be strong when I deal with you? 25 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it! 22:15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among various countries; I will remove your impurity from you. 26 22:16 You will be profaned within yourself 27 in the sight of the nations; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
22:17 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace; 28 they are the worthless slag of silver. 22:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Because all of you 29 have become slag, look out! – I am about to gather you in the middle of Jerusalem. 30 22:20 As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there 31 and melt you. 22:21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in it. 22:22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger on you.’”
22:23 The word of the Lord came to me: 22:24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that receives no rain 32 or showers in the day of my anger.’ 33 22:25 Her princes 34 within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows 35 within it. 22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, 36 or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore 37 my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst. 22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. 38 They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. 39
22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. 40 22:31 So I have poured my anger on them, and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done, 41 declares the sovereign Lord.”
23:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 23:2 “Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of the same mother. 23:3 They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers 42 fondled their virgin nipples there. 23:4 Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah 43 the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. 44 Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
23:5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. 45 She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians 46 – warriors 47 23:6 clothed in blue, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 23:7 She bestowed her sexual favors on them; all of them were the choicest young men of Assyria. She defiled herself with all whom she desired 48 – with all their idols. 23:8 She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her. 49 23:9 Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians 50 for whom she lusted. 23:10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became notorious 51 among women, and they executed judgments against her.
23:11 “Her sister Oholibah watched this, 52 but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister. 23:12 She lusted after the Assyrians – governors and officials, warriors in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 23:13 I saw that she was defiled; both of them followed the same path. 23:14 But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red, 53 23:15 wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, the image of Babylonians 54 whose native land is Chaldea. 23:16 When she saw them, 55 she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 56 23:17 The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. 57 They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she 58 became disgusted with them. 23:18 When she lustfully exposed her nakedness, 59 I 60 was disgusted with her, just as I 61 had been disgusted with her sister. 23:19 Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt. 23:20 She lusted after their genitals – as large as those of donkeys, 62 and their seminal emission was as strong as that of stallions. 23:21 This is how you assessed 63 the obscene conduct of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled 64 your nipples and squeezed 65 your young breasts.
23:22 “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, 66 I am about to stir up against you the lovers with whom you were disgusted; I will bring them against you from every side: 23:23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, 67 Shoa, 68 and Koa, 69 and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, all of them governors and officials, officers and nobles, all of them riding on horses. 23:24 They will attack 70 you with weapons, 71 chariots, wagons, and with a huge army; 72 they will array themselves against you on every side with large shields, small shields, and helmets. I will assign them the task of judgment; 73 they will punish you according to their laws. 23:25 I will direct 74 my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in rage. They will cut off your nose and your ears, 75 and your survivors will die 76 by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your survivors will be consumed by fire. 23:26 They will strip your clothes off you and take away your beautiful jewelry. 23:27 So I will put an end to your obscene conduct and your prostitution which you have practiced in the land of Egypt. 77 You will not seek their help 78 or remember Egypt anymore.
23:28 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, 79 I am about to deliver you over to 80 those whom you hate, to those with whom you were disgusted. 23:29 They will treat you with hatred, take away all you have labored for, 81 and leave you naked and bare. Your nakedness will be exposed, just as when you engaged in prostitution and obscene conduct. 82 23:30 I will do these things to you 83 because you engaged in prostitution with the nations, polluting yourself with their idols. 23:31 You have followed the ways of your sister, so I will place her cup of judgment 84 in your hand. 23:32 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: “You will drink your sister’s deep and wide cup; 85 you will be scorned and derided, for it holds a great deal. 23:33 You will be overcome by 86 drunkenness and sorrow. The cup of your sister Samaria is a cup of horror and desolation. 23:34 You will drain it dry, 87 gnaw its pieces, 88 and tear out your breasts, 89 for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.
23:35 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have forgotten me and completely disregarded me, 90 you must bear now the punishment 91 for your obscene conduct and prostitution.”
23:36 The Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment 92 on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds! 23:37 For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and their sons, whom they bore to me, 93 they have passed through the fire as food to their idols. 94 23:38 Moreover, they have done this to me: In the very same day 95 they desecrated my sanctuary and profaned my Sabbaths. 23:39 On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house.
23:40 “They even sent for men from far away; when the messenger arrived, those men set out. 96 For them you bathed, 97 painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with jewelry. 23:41 You sat on a magnificent couch, with a table arranged in front of it where you placed my incense and my olive oil. 23:42 The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, 98 including all kinds of men; 99 even Sabeans 100 were brought from the desert. The sisters 101 put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 23:43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will commit immoral acts with her.’ 23:44 They had sex with her 102 as one does with a prostitute. In this way they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, promiscuous women. 23:45 But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, 103 because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
23:46 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Bring up an army 104 against them and subject them 105 to terror and plunder. 23:47 That army will pelt them with stones and slash them with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses. 106 23:48 I will put an end to the obscene conduct in the land; all the women will learn a lesson from this and not engage in obscene conduct. 23:49 They will repay you for your obscene conduct, and you will be punished for idol worship. 107 Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.”
24:1 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month 108 : 24:2 “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege 109 to Jerusalem 110 this very day. 24:3 Recite a proverb to this rebellious house 111 and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Set on the pot, 112 set it on,
pour water in it too;
24:4 add the pieces of meat to it,
every good piece,
the thigh and the shoulder;
fill it with choice bones.
24:5 Take the choice bone of the flock,
heap up bones under it;
boil rapidly,
and boil its bones in it.
24:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Woe to the city of bloodshed,
the pot whose rot 113 is in it,
whose rot has not been removed 114 from it!
Empty it piece by piece.
No lot has fallen on it. 115
24:7 For her blood was in it;
she poured it on an exposed rock;
she did not pour it on the ground to cover it up with dust.
24:8 To arouse anger, to take vengeance,
I have placed her blood on an exposed rock so that it cannot be covered up.
24:9 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Woe to the city of bloodshed!
I will also make the pile high.
24:10 Pile up the bones, kindle the fire;
cook the meat well, mix in the spices,
let the bones be charred.
24:11 Set the empty pot on the coals, 116
until it becomes hot and its copper glows,
until its uncleanness melts within it and its rot 117 is consumed.
24:12 It has tried my patience; 118
yet its thick rot is not removed 119 from it.
Subject its rot to the fire! 120
24:13 You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. 121
I tried to cleanse you, 122 but you are not clean.
You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness 123
until I have exhausted my anger on you.
24:14 “‘I the Lord have spoken; judgment 124 is coming and I will act! I will not relent, or show pity, or be sorry! 125 I will judge you 126 according to your conduct 127 and your deeds, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
24:15 The word of Lord came to me: 24:16 “Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, 128 but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears. 24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, 129 but do not perform mourning rites. 130 Bind on your turban 131 and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip 132 and do not eat food brought by others.” 133
24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. In the morning 134 I acted just as I was commanded. 24:19 Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?”
24:20 So I said to them: “The word of the Lord came to me: 24:21 Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary – the source of your confident pride, 135 the object in which your eyes delight, 136 and your life’s passion. 137 Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die 138 by the sword. 24:22 Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lip or eat food brought by others. 139 24:23 Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you will not mourn or weep, but you will rot 140 for your iniquities 141 and groan among yourselves. 24:24 Ezekiel will be an object lesson for you; you will do all that he has done. When it happens, then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’
24:25 “And you, son of man, this is what will happen on the day I take 142 from them their stronghold – their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, 143 as well as their sons and daughters: 144 24:26 On that day a fugitive will come to you to report the news. 145 24:27 On that day you will be able to speak again; 146 you will talk with the fugitive and be silent no longer. You will be an object lesson for them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”