Ezekiel 22:7-31

7 Father and mother 1are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner 2suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow 3are wronged in you.
8 4You have despised my holy things and 5profaned my Sabbaths.
9 6There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you 7who eat on the mountains; 8they commit lewdness in your midst.
10 In you 9men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity.
11 10One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; 11another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; 12another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter.
12 In you 13they take bribes to shed blood; 14you take interest and profit[a] and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but 15me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.
13 "Behold, 16I strike my hand at 17the dishonest gain that you have made, and at 18the blood that has been in your midst.
14 19Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? 20I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.
15 21I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and 22I will consume your uncleanness out of you.
16 And 23you shall be profaned by your own doing 24in the sight of the nations, 25and you shall know that I am the LORD."
17 And the word of the LORD came to me:
18 26"Son of man, the house of Israel has become 27dross to me; all of them are 28bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are 29dross of silver.
19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20 As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, 30to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you 31in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you.
21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it.
22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD; 32I have poured out my wrath upon you."
23 And the word of the LORD came to me:
24 "Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is 33not cleansed 34or rained upon in the day of indignation.
25 35The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is 36like a roaring lion 37tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
26 38Her priests 39have done violence to my law and 40have profaned my holy things. 41They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and 42they have disregarded my Sabbaths, 43so that I am profaned among them.
27 44Her princes in her midst are like wolves 45tearing the prey, 46shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.
28 And 47her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, 48seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken.
29 The people of the land 49have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and 50have extorted from the sojourner without justice.
30 51And I sought for a man among them 52who should build up the wall 53and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
31 Therefore 54I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned 55their way upon their heads, declares the Lord GOD."

Ezekiel 22:7-31 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 55

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. That is, profit that comes from charging interest to the poor (compare Leviticus 25:36)
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.