1 T he Word of the Lord came to me saying,

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

2 “ Son of man, will you judge? Will you judge this city of blood? Then tell the people about all their sinful acts.

Now, thou son of man, wilt thou not judge, wilt thou not judge the city that spills innocent blood and cause her to know all her abominations?

3 T ell them, ‘The Lord God says, “O city, because you have killed your own people and have made yourselves false gods to add to your sins, your time will come!

Then thou shalt say, Thus hath the Lord GOD said, City that sheds blood in the midst of thyself, that thy time may come, and that has made idols against thyself to defile thyself!

4 Y ou have become guilty by killing your people, and sinful by the false gods you have made. You have brought the day of your punishment near. The end of your years has come. So I have made you a shame to the nations. All the countries laugh at you.

In thy blood that thou hast shed thou hast sinned and hast defiled thyself with thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near and art come even unto thy years; therefore I have given thee in reproach unto the Gentiles, and in shame unto all the countries.

5 P eople both near and far will make fun of you, you who are full of shame and trouble.

Those that are near and those that are far from thee shall mock thee, who art infamous and much vexed.

6 S ee, each of the rulers of Israel who are in you has used his power to kill.

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

7 T hey have not honored father and mother within you. They have made it hard for the stranger living among you. They have done wrong to those in you who have lost their father or husband.

In thee they have despised father and mother; in the midst of thee they have dealt by oppression with the stranger; in thee they have vexed the fatherless and the widow.

8 Y ou have hated My holy things and have not kept My Days of Rest holy.

Thou hast despised my holy things and hast profaned my sabbaths.

9 T here are men in you who have lied about others to cause them to be put to death. Some have eaten at the altars on the mountains, and have done sex sins there.

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.

10 M en have done sex sins with their fathers’ wives. Men have put women to shame during their time of the month when they are unclean.

In thee they have discovered their fathers’ nakedness; in thee they have forced the unclean menstruous woman.

11 O ne has done sex sins with his neighbor’s wife. Another has done sex sins with his daughter-in-law. And another has put his own sister to shame, his father’s daughter.

And one has committed abomination with his neighbour’s wife; and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in thee has forced his sister, his father’s daughter.

12 I n you they have taken pay to kill people. You have made others pay back more than they owe you. You have hurt your neighbors by making it hard for them to pay you. And you have forgotten Me,” says the Lord God.

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

13 “ I will bring My hand down hard upon the money you have made by your sinful ways, and for the blood of those you have killed among you.

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

14 C an your strength of heart last? Or can your hands be strong, in the days that I punish you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say.

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.

15 I will divide you among the nations and spread you out through the lands. I will take away from you all that is unclean.

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

16 Y ou will become sinful in the eyes of the nations, and you will know that I am the Lord.”’”

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

17 T he Word of the Lord came to me saying,

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

18 “ Son of man, the people of Israel have become waste to Me. They are like brass, tin, iron, and lead in the fire and have become waste that is left after silver has gone through the fire.

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

19 S o the Lord God says, ‘Because you have all become waste, I am going to gather you together in Jerusalem.

Therefore thus hath the Lord GOD said: Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

20 A s men gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the stove to blow fire on it and melt it, so I will gather you in My anger. I will put you in the city and melt you.

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 my anger and in my fury, and I will cause you to rest, and melt you.

21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My anger, and you will be melted within it.

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

22 A s silver is melted in the hot stove, so you will be melted in Jerusalem. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out My anger upon you.’”

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.

23 T he Word of the Lord came to me saying,

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

24 “ Son of man, tell Israel, ‘You are a land that is not made clean or rained on in the day of anger.’

Son of man, say unto her, Thou art not clean land, nor art thou sprinkled with rain in the day of indignation.

25 I srael’s false religious leaders are making plans within her. They are like a lion making noise over the food it has killed. They have taken human lives and also riches and things of much worth. They have made many women in Israel lose their husbands.

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 treasures and honour; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

26 H er religious leaders have broken My Law, and have made My holy things unclean. It makes no difference to them if something is holy or unclean. They have not taught the difference between what is clean and unclean. They hide their eyes from My Days of Rest, and I am not honored among them.

Her priests have violated my law by force and have profaned my holy things; they have made no difference between the holy and the profane, neither have they showed the difference between the unclean and the clean and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

27 H er leaders are like wolves tearing apart the animals they have killed. They kill and destroy lives to get things by doing wrong.

Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to follow their own greed.

28 H er men who speak in My name have covered these sins with whitewash for the people. They see false dreams and lie to them using their secret ways, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.

And her prophets have plastered them over with loose mud, prophesying vanity and divining lies unto them, saying: Thus hath the Lord GOD said, when the LORD has not spoken.

29 T he people of the land have made it hard for others and have stolen. They have done wrong to the poor and those in need. And they have made it hard for the stranger who lives among them, taking away his rights.

The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery and have done violence unto the poor and needy; they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.

30 I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the place where it is broken, to stop Me from destroying the land, but I found no one.

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 no one.

31 S o I have become angry with them. I have destroyed them with the fire of My anger. I am punishing them for what they have done,” says the Lord God.

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