Ezekiel 22:1–13

The Crimes of Jerusalem

22The Lord spoke to me. ²“Mortal man,” he said, “are you ready to judge the city that is full of murderers? Make clear to her all the disgusting things she has done. ³Tell the city what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: because you have murdered so many of your own people and have defiled yourself by worshipping idols, your time is coming. ⁴You are guilty of those murders and are defiled by the idols you made, and so your day is coming, your time is up! That is why I have let the nations mock you and all the countries sneer at you. ⁵Countries near by and countries far away sneer at you because of your lawlessness. ⁶All Israel’s leaders trust in their own strength and commit murder. ^7*You people in the city do not honour your parents. You cheat foreigners and take advantage of widows and orphans. ^8*You have no respect for the holy places, and you don’t keep the Sabbath. ⁹Some of your people tell lies about others in order to have them put to death. Some of them eat sacrifices offered to idols. Some are always satisfying their lusts. ^10*Some of them sleep with their father’s wife. Some force women to have intercourse with them during their period. ^11*Some commit adultery, and others seduce their daughters-in-law or their half-sisters. ^12*Some of your people murder for pay. Some charge interest on the loans they make to their fellow-Israelites and get rich by taking advantage of them. They have forgotten me.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.

¹³“I will bring my fist down on your robberies and murders.