Ezekiel 22:23–29

INDICTMENT OF A SINFUL LAND

²³The word of the Lord came to me: ²⁴“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed,^y that has not received rain in the day of indignation.’ ²⁵The conspiracy of her prophets^z within her is like a roaring lion tearing its prey: they devour people, seize wealth and valuables, and multiply the widows within her. ²⁶Her priests do violence to my instruction and profane my holy things.^aa They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they do not explain the difference between the clean and the unclean.^ab They close their eyes to my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

²⁷“Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives in order to make profit dishonestly. ²⁸Her prophets plaster for them with whitewash by seeing false visions and lying divinations,^ac saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. ²⁹The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery.^ad They have oppressed the poor and needy and unlawfully exploited the resident alien.