Sins of Jerusalem
1 Moreover the word of theLordcame to me, saying,
2 “Now, son of man,will you judge, will you judgethe bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations!
3 Then say, ‘Thus says the LordGod: “The city shedsblood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself.
4 You have become guilty by the blood which you haveshed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come totheendofyour years;therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries.
5 Thosenear andthosefar from you will mock you as infamousandfull of tumult.
6 “Look,the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you.
7 In you they havemade light of father and mother; in your midst they haveoppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow.
8 You have despised My holy things andprofaned My Sabbaths.
9 In you aremen who slander to cause bloodshed;in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness.
10 In you menuncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who areset apart during their impurity.
11 One commits abominationwith his neighbor’s wife;another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father’sdaughter.
12 In youthey take bribes to shed blood;you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, andhave forgotten Me,” says the LordGod.
13 “Behold, therefore, Ibeat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst.
14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you?I, theLord, have spoken, and will doit.
15 I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, andremove your filthiness completely from you.
16 You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; thenyou shall know that IamtheLord.” ’ ”
Israel in the Furnace
17 The word of theLordcame to me, saying,
18 “Son of man,the house of Israel has become dross to Me; theyareall bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of afurnace; they have become dross from silver.
19 Therefore thus says the LordGod: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20 Asmengather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, tomeltit;so I will gatheryouin My anger and in My fury, and I will leaveyouthereand melt you.
21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.
22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, theLord, havepoured out My fury on you.’ ”
Israel’s Wicked Leaders
23 And the word of theLordcame to me, saying,
24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘Youarea land that isnot cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’
25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; theyhave devoured people;they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
26 Her priests have violated My law andprofaned My holy things; they have notdistinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made knownthedifferencebetween the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
27 Herprinces in her midstarelike wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.
28 Her prophets plastered them with untemperedmortar,seeing false visions, and divininglies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the LordGod,’ when theLordhad not spoken.
29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfullyoppress the stranger.
30 So I sought for a man among them who wouldmake a wall, andstand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
31 Therefore I havepoured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensedtheir deeds on their own heads,” says the LordGod.