22:2 you judge the bloody city Yahweh commands Ezekiel to judge, which appears to involve delivering an accusation rather than a verdict (see 20:4 and note). On the bloody city, see 7:23 and note.

her detestable things One of Ezekiel’s most frequently used terms for describing Israel’s idolatry. See note on 5:9.

22:3 it made idols for itself, becoming unclean The presence of idols makes the city ritually impure, though the city was already defiled due to bloodshed (compare Isa 59:3; see note on Ezek 5:11). Ezekiel again uses the disparaging term gillulim to refer to idols (see note on 14:3).

22:4 you have brought your days near Their sinful ways have brought the time for judgment even closer.

a disgrace for the nations The Hebrew word used here, cherpah, refers to a condition of shame or disgrace. Israel will be shamed before the nations.

22:6 The princes of Israel Refers to Jerusalem’s ruling class. The accusation of bloodshed covers the full spectrum of social injustices that the upper class was guilty of inflicting on the less fortunate. The specific list of sins to follow reveals that no aspect of daily life was left undefiled.

22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt Violates Exod 20:12 and Deut 27:16.

they violated the alien with extortion Violates Exod 22:21–22.

they mistreated the orphan and widow The laws in Exodus awarded protected status to foreigners, widows, and orphans (see Exod 22:21–27). The prophets regularly criticize the upper classes of Judah and Israel for violating that protected status (compare Isa 1:15–17; see note on Ezek 1:17).

22:8 You despised my holy objects An indictment directed toward priests for failing to observe proper rituals for maintaining the sanctuary’s purity. The idols present in the Jerusalem temple, for example, defiled everything that should have been set apart solely for Yahweh.

my Sabbaths you profaned Improper observance or total failure to observe the Sabbath violated Yahweh’s commanded in Exod 20:8–11 (compare Ezek 20:13; 22:27).

22:9 Slanderous men are among you to shed blood Presumably indicates that false accusations have led to wrongful deaths. The legal basis is Lev 19:16, which connects the concept of slander with shedding blood (dam in Hebrew; sometimes translated “life”).

they, among you, eat upon the mountains Compare Ezek 18:6. An unusual phrase Ezekiel uses to refer to idol worship at the high places.

wickedness Graphically portrayed in ch. 16. See 16:43.

22:10 They uncover the nakedness of a father The list of sexual sins in vv. 10–11 covers most of the prohibited sexual unions recorded in Lev 18:6–20. This verse uses a Hebrew euphemism for sexuality that concerns the mother or stepmother to the men (see note on Gen 9:22–24).

they violate a woman unclean of Breaks the prohibition of Lev 18:19.

22:11 does a detestable thing with the wife of his neighbor Forbidden by Leviticus 18:20, where the emphasis is becoming unclean through the forbidden act.

defiles his daughter-in-law in wickedness Breaks Leviticus 18:15.

sexually violates among you his sister, the daughter of his father Prohibited in Leviticus 18:9.

22:12 They take a bribe among you in order to shed blood See Deut 27:25. Ezekiel’s accusations leave little room for Israel to protest their punishment, since he draws on a wide range of legal traditions to show their failure to honor the covenant.

you take usury Part of the hypothetical sins in Ezek 18:8, but specifically forbidden by Lev 25:36.

you have forgotten me, declares the Lord Yahweh Israel’s disobedience to the law reveals their total abandonment of Yahweh—the ultimate insult.

22:15 I will scatter you among the nations Part of Ezekiel’s goal is to explain the reason for the Jews’ exile to Babylon. He repeatedly reminds them of Yahweh’s promise to scatter them if they failed to keep the covenant (see Lev 26:33).

I will purge your uncleanness from you An allusion to purification by fire, foreshadowing the theme of the next section (begins in Ezek 22:17).

22:16 I will be profaned by you Israel bears the responsibility for its own fate (see v. 4 and note).

you will know that I am Yahweh The divine recognition formula. See note on 5:13.

22:18 dross This symbolizes impurity, a key theme in Ezekiel—the Hebrew term here refers to the waste material left after metals are purified by the process of smelting.

in the midst of a furnace While they are in the furnace, metals are purified and transformed. The metaphor is also applied to Judah’s judgment in Isa 48:10.

silver dross, silver dross they became Judah is symbolized by silver, but instead of the pure metal, they are the impure by-product.

22:20 I will gather in my anger The people must be judged and purified before Yahweh can offer salvation and restoration.

22:24 not cleansed; it The land has been defiled but not yet purified (see Ezek 22:2–4).

22:25 The conspiracy of its prophets in the midst of her Ezekiel criticized specific sinful behaviors in vv. 6–12. He now condemns the groups of people most responsible for defiling the city. Zephaniah 3:3–4 uses similar imagery.

They devour people The metaphor of the man-eating lion also is used for the princes (see Ezek 19:3).

22:26 priests treat my law violently More than all other religious officials, the priests were responsible to maintain the integrity of the divine law.

they do not distinguish between a holy object and Violates the command of Lev 10:10.

between the clean and the unclean Failing in their duty to uphold the boundaries of ritual purity.

22:27 Its officials A different Hebrew title than is used for the royal princes in Ezek 19:2 and 22:6. Sar (used here) simply denotes a ranking official. See note on 11:1.

22:28 its prophets plaster whitewash The depiction of false prophecy as whitewash, covering the reality of imminent judgment, reflects 13:10–12.

22:29 They severely oppress the people of the land Even common people are guilty of injustice and violating the principles of the covenant.

22:30 for them somebody, one repairing the wall Yahweh cannot find even one righteous person to justify deferring His judgment a little longer (compare Jer 5:1; Isa 59:16).

22:31 I poured out my indignation Finding no righteous person (see v. 30), Yahweh has no choice but to punish Israel.