Ezekiel 22:8-18

8 "You have 1despised My holy things and 2profaned My sabbaths.
9 "Slanderous men have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood, and in you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have 3committed acts of lewdness.
10 "In you they have 4uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in you they have humbled her who was 5unclean in her menstrual impurity.
11 "One has committed abomination with his 6neighbor's wife and another has lewdly defiled his 7daughter-in-law. And another in you has 8humbled his sister, his father's daughter.
12 "In you they have 9taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken 10interest and profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by 11oppression, and you have 12forgotten Me," declares the Lord GOD.
13 "Behold, then, I smite My hand at your 13dishonest gain which you have acquired and at the bloodshed which is among you.
14 "Can 14your heart endure, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will deal with you? 15I, the LORD, have spoken and will act.
15 "I will 16scatter you among the nations and I will disperse you through the lands, and I will 17consume your uncleanness from you.
16 "You will profane yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will 18know that I am the LORD.""'
17 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
18 "Son of man, the house of Israel has become 19dross to Me; all of them are 20bronze and tin and iron and lead in the 21furnace; they are the dross of silver.

Ezekiel 22:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 22

In this chapter a catalogue or list of the sins of the Jews is given; a comparison of them to dross is made, and they are dealt with accordingly; and a complaint is lodged against all ranks and orders of men for their sins; on account of which, there being no intercessor for them, they are threatened with captivity and destruction. The prophet is ordered to judge them, and lay before them their abominable sins, Eze 22:1,2, of which a long list is given, as murder, idolatry; contempt of parents; oppression of the stranger, fatherless, and widow; negligence of holy things; profanation of the sabbath; tale bearing, lewdness and uncleanness of various sorts; bribery, usury, extortion, and dishonest gain, Eze 22:3-13 for which the Lord threatens to deal with them in a manner that would be intolerable to them; that he would carry them captive, and scatter them among the Heathen, Eze 22:14-16, they are compared to dross, and as such should be gathered into a furnace, and melted down, Eze 22:17-21, all ranks and orders of men are complained of, because of their sins, and threatened, Eze 22:23,24, the prophets for their voraciousness, rapine, murder, and lies, Eze 22:25,28, the priests, for their violation of the law, neglect of holy things, and profanation of the sabbath, Eze 22:26, the princes, for their cruelty, murder, and dishonest gain, Eze 22:27, the people of the land, for their oppression and robbery, Eze 22:29, and there being none to stand in the gap for them, the Lord threatens to pour out his wrath upon them, and consume them, Eze 22:30,31.

Cross References 21

  • 1. Ezekiel 22:26
  • 2. Ezek 20:13, 21, 24; Ezekiel 23:38, 39
  • 3. Ezekiel 23:29; Hos 4:2, 10, 14
  • 4. Leviticus 18:8
  • 5. Leviticus 18:19; Ezekiel 18:6
  • 6. Ezekiel 18:11; Ezekiel 33:26
  • 7. Leviticus 18:15
  • 8. 2 Samuel 13:11-14
  • 9. Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19; Deuteronomy 27:25; Micah 7:2, 3
  • 10. Leviticus 25:36; Deuteronomy 23:19
  • 11. Leviticus 19:13
  • 12. Psalms 106:21; Ezekiel 23:35
  • 13. Isaiah 33:15; Amos 2:6-8; Micah 2:2
  • 14. Ezekiel 21:7
  • 15. Ezekiel 17:24
  • 16. Deuteronomy 4:27; Nehemiah 1:8; Ezekiel 20:23; Zechariah 7:14
  • 17. Ezekiel 23:27, 48
  • 18. Psalms 83:18; Ezekiel 6:7
  • 19. Psalms 119:119; Isaiah 1:22; Lamentations 4:1
  • 20. Jeremiah 6:28-30
  • 21. Proverbs 17:3; Isaiah 48:10

Footnotes 2

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