Jerusalem Sins Against the Lord

22 A message came to me from the Lord. He said, 2“Son of man, are you going to judge Jerusalem? Will you judge this city that has so many murderers in it? Then tell its people they have done many evil things. I hate those things. 3Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “Your city brings death on itself. You spill blood inside its walls. You pollute yourselves by making statues of gods. 4You are guilty of spilling blood. The statues you have made have polluted you.

“ ‘ “You have brought your days to a close. The end of your years has come. So the nations will make fun of you. All of the countries will laugh at you. 5Those who are near you will tell jokes about you. So will those who are far away. Trouble fills the streets of your sinful city.

6“ ‘ “The princes of Israel are in your city. All of them use their power to spill blood. 7They have made fun of fathers and mothers alike. They have crushed outsiders. They have treated badly the children whose fathers have died. They have done the same thing to widows.

8“ ‘ “You have looked down on the holy things that were set apart to me. You have misused my Sabbath days. 9You have spread lies about others so you can spill someone’s blood. You eat at the mountain temples. You commit impure acts.

10“ ‘ “You bring shame on your fathers by having sex with their wives. You have sex with women during their monthly period. That is when they are ‘unclean.’ 11One of you has sex with another man’s wife. I hate that sin. Another brings shame on his daughter-in-law by having sex with her. Still another has sex with his sister, even though she is his own father’s daughter.

12“ ‘ “You accept money from people who want special favors. You do it to spill someone’s blood. You charge too much interest when you lend money. You get rich by cheating your neighbors. And you have forgotten me,” announces the Lord and King.

13“ ‘ “I will clap my hands because I am so angry. You got rich by cheating others. You spilled blood inside the walls of your city. 14Will you be brave on the day I deal with you? Will you be strong at that time? I have spoken. I will do it. I am the Lord.

15“ ‘ “I will scatter you among the nations. I will send you to other countries. I will put an end to your ‘uncleanness.’ 16You will be polluted in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

17A message came to me from the Lord. He said, 18“Son of man, the people of Israel have become like scum to me. All of them are like the copper, tin, iron and lead that are left inside a furnace. They are only the scum that is removed from silver.”

19So the Lord and King says, “People of Israel, all of you have become like scum. So I will gather you together in Jerusalem. 20Men put silver, copper, iron, lead and tin into a furnace. They melt it with a blazing fire. In the same way, I will gather you. I will pour out my burning anger on you. I will put you inside the city and melt you. 21I will gather you together. My burning anger will blaze out at you. And you will be melted inside Jerusalem. 22Silver is melted in a furnace. And you will be melted inside the city. Then you will know that I have poured out my burning anger on you. I am the Lord.”

23Another message came to me from the Lord. He said, 24“Son of man, speak to the land. Tell it, ‘You have not had any rain or showers. That is because I am angry with you.’

25“Ezekiel, the princes of the land are like a roaring lion that tears its food apart. They eat people up. They take treasures and other valuable things. They cause many women in the land to become widows.

26“Its priests break my law. They treat things that are set apart to me as if they were not holy. They treat holy and common things as if they were the same. They teach that there is no difference between things that are ‘clean’ and things that are not. They refuse to keep my Sabbath days. So they treat me as if I were not holy.

27“The officials in the land are like wolves that tear their food apart. They spill blood and kill people to get rich. 28The prophets cover up those acts for them. The visions of those prophets are false. They use magic to try to find out what is going to happen. But their magic tricks are lies. They say, ‘The Lord and King says,’ But I have not spoken to them.

29“The people of the land get rich by cheating others. They steal. They crush those who are poor and in need. They treat outsiders badly. They refuse to be fair to them.

30“I looked for a man among them who would stand up for Jerusalem. I tried to find someone who would pray to me for the land. Then I would not have to destroy it. But I could not find anyone who would pray for it. 31So I will pour out my anger on its people. I will destroy them because my anger burns against them. And anything that happens to them will be their own fault,” announces the Lord and King.