Ezekiel 22:3

3 and give her this message from the Sovereign LORD : O city of murderers, doomed and damned—city of idols, filthy and foul—

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 Now this message came to me from the LORD :
2 “Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Publicly denounce her detestable sins,
3 and give her this message from the Sovereign LORD : O city of murderers, doomed and damned—city of idols, filthy and foul—
4 you are guilty because of the blood you have shed. You are defiled because of the idols you have made. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world.
5 O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people far and near.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. The Hebrew term (literally round things ) probably alludes to dung; also in 22:4 .
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