Ezekiel 22:3

3 "You shall say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "A city ¹shedding blood in her midst, so that her time will come, and that makes idols, contrary to her interest, for defilement!

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 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 "And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.

3 "You shall say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "A city shedding blood in her midst, so that her time will come, and that makes idols, contrary to her interest, for defilement!

4 "You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made. Thus you have brought your day near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands.

5 "Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you of ill repute, full of turmoil.

Cross References

• 1. Ezekiel 22:6, 27; Ezekiel 23:37, 45

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch