Ezekiel 22:3

3 And you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "A city pouring out blood in the midst of her; {its time has come}, and it made idols for itself, becoming unclean.

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 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

2 "And you, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the {bloody city}? Then you must make known [to] her all of her detestable things!

3 And you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "A city pouring out blood in the midst of her; {its time has come}, and it made idols for itself, becoming unclean.

4 By your blood that you poured out you have become guilty, and by your idols that you made you have become unclean, and you have brought your days near, {and your appointed years have come}. Therefore I have made you a disgrace for the nations and a laughingstock to all of the countries.

5 The [people] near and the [people] far from you will make fun of you, {the unclean and the terrified}.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "to come time her its"