Ezekiel 22:3

3 Tell it, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: [Jerusalem,] you are the city that murders people who live in you. Your time has come. You dishonor yourself with disgusting idols.

Ezekiel 22:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 22:3

Then say thou, thus saith the Lord God
For though the prophet was to sit as judge, yet in the name of the King of kings, under whose authority he acted: the city sheddeth blood in the midst of it;
openly and impudently, in the face of all, and in great abundance; even innocent blood, as the Targum has it: murders were frequent and common, either through quarrels, or through unrighteous judgments in courts of judicature: that her time may come;
to fill up the measure of her iniquity, and to receive the just punishment of her sins. So the Targum,

``the time of her destruction:''

and maketh idols against herself, to defile herself;
being guilty, not only of murder, but of idolatry; she was an idol maker and an idol worshipper; and which was against herself, as well as against God; to her own ruin and destruction, as well as to his dishonour; and it is no wonder she should be defiled with such dunghill gods as these were, as the word used signifies. The Targum renders it, "in the midst of her"; and Kimchi interprets it, by "her", or "above her", upon the mountains and hills.

Ezekiel 22:3 In-Context

1 The LORD spoke his word to me. He said,

2 "Will you judge, son of man? Will you judge the city of murderers? Then tell it about all the disgusting things that it has done.

3 Tell it, 'This is what the Almighty LORD says: [Jerusalem,] you are the city that murders people who live in you. Your time has come. You dishonor yourself with disgusting idols.

4 You are guilty because of the people you have killed. You are dishonored because of the disgusting idols you have made. You have brought an end to your days, and you have come to the end of your years. That is why I will make you a disgrace to the nations and a joke in every land.

5 Those near and those far away will mock you. Your name will be dishonored, and you will be filled with confusion.