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Ezekiel 22:6–12

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22:6“ ‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood.822:7They have treated father and mother with contempt9 within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow10 within you. 22:8You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths! 22:9Slanderous men shed blood within you.11 Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains;12 they commit obscene acts among you.1322:10They have sex with their father’s wife within you;14 they violate women during their menstrual period within you.1522:11One16 commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates17 his sister—his father’s daughter18—within you. 22:12They 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

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Footnotes

  1. 8 Heb “Look! The princes of Israel, each according to his arm, were in you in order to shed blood.”
  2. 9 Heb “treated lightly, cursed.”
  3. 10 Widows and orphans are often coupled together in the OT (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19–21; 26:12–13; Jer 7:6; 22:3). They represented all who were poor and vulnerable to economic exploitation.
  4. 11 Heb “men of slander are in you in order to shed blood.”
  5. 12 Heb “and on the mountains they eat within you.” The mountains mentioned here were the site of pagan sacrifices. See 18:6.
  6. 13 This statement introduces vv. 10–11 and refers in general terms to the sexual sins described there. For the legal background of vv. 10–11, see Lev 18:7–20; 20:10–21; Deut 22:22–23, 30; 27:22.
  7. 14 Heb “the nakedness of a father one uncovers within you.” The ancient versions read the verb as plural (“they uncover”). If the singular is retained, it must be taken as indefinite and representative of the entire group. The idiomatic expression “uncover the nakedness” refers here to sexual intercourse (cf. Lev 18:6). To uncover a father’s nakedness could include sexual relations with one’s own mother (Lev 18:7), but more likely it refers to having intercourse with another wife of one’s father, such as a stepmother (Lev 18:8; cf. Gen 35:22; 49:4).
  8. 15 Heb “(one who is) unclean due to the impurity they humble within you.” The use of the verb “to humble” suggests that these men forced themselves upon women during menstruation. Having sexual relations with a woman during her period was forbidden by the Law (Lev 18:19; 20:18).
  9. 16 Heb “a man.”
  10. 17 The verb is the same one used in verse 10b and suggests forcible sexual violation of the woman.
  11. 18 Sexual relations with one’s half-sister may be primarily in view here. See Lev 18:9; 20:17.
  12. 19 Heb “usury and interest you take.” See 18:13, 17. This kind of economic exploitation violated the law given in Lev 25:36.
  13. 20 Forgetting the Lord is also addressed in Deut 6:12; 8:11, 14; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Ezek 23:35; Hos 2:15; 8:14; 13:6.
  14. 21 The second person verb forms are feminine singular in Hebrew, indicating that the personified city is addressed here as representing its citizens.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst. In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter. In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord God.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“ ‘See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood. In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the foreigner and mistreated the fatherless and the widow. You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths. In you are slanderers who are bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts. In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed; in you are those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean. In you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter. In you are people who accept bribes to shed blood; you take interest and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors. And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign Lord.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“ ‘Look, every prince of Israel within you has used his strength to shed blood. Father and mother are treated with contempt, and the resident alien is exploited within you. The fatherless and widow are oppressed in you. You despise my holy things and profane my Sabbaths. There are men within you who slander in order to shed blood. People who live in you eat at the mountain shrines; they commit depraved acts within you. Men within you have sexual intercourse with their father’s wife and violate women during their menstrual impurity. One man within you commits a detestable act with his neighbor’s wife; another defiles his daughter-in-law with depravity; and yet another violates his sister, his father’s daughter. People who live in you accept bribes in order to shed blood. You take interest and profit on a loan and brutally extort your neighbors. You have forgotten me. This is the declaration of the Lord God.

NLTNew Living Translation

“Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder. Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you. You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest. People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things. Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and force themselves on women who are menstruating. Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters-in-law, or who rape their own sisters. There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign Lord.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Look! The princes of Israel, each one according to his strength, they are in you for the shedding of blood. They have treated father and mother with contempt in you; they violated the alien with extortion; in the midst of you they mistreated the orphan and widow. You despised my holy objects; my Sabbaths you profaned. Slanderous men are among you to shed blood, and they, among you, eat upon the mountains; they do wickedness in the midst of you. They uncover the nakedness of a father among you; they violate a woman unclean of menstruation among you. And a man does a detestable thing with the wife of his neighbor, and a man defiles his daughter-in-law in wickedness, and a man sexually violates among you his sister, the daughter of his father. They take a bribe among you in order to shed blood; and you take usury, and you make gain from your neighbors by extortion, and so you have forgotten me, declares the Lord Yahweh.

KJV 1900King James Version

Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood. In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths. 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. In thee have they discovered their fathers’ nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution. And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour’s wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father’s daughter. In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord God.