Ezekiel 22

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.

6 “Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder.

7 Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you.

8 You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest.

9 People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things.

10 Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and force themselves on women who are menstruating.

11 Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters-in-law, or who rape their own sisters.

12 There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign LORD .

13 “But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.

14 How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do what I said.

15 I will scatter you among the nations and purge you of your wickedness.

16 And when I have been dishonored among the nations because of you, you will know that I am the LORD .”

17 Then this message came to me from the LORD :

18 “Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over—a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead.

19 So tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem.

20 Just as silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are melted down in a furnace, I will melt you down in the heat of my fury.

21 I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you,

22 and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my fury on you.’”

23 Again a message came to me from the LORD :

24 “Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: In the day of my indignation, you will be like a polluted land, a land without rain.

25 Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They make many widows in the land.

26 Your priests have violated my instructions and defiled my holy things. They make no distinction between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that I am dishonored among them.

27 Your leaders are like wolves who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money!

28 And your prophets cover up for them by announcing false visions and making lying predictions. They say, ‘My message is from the Sovereign LORD,’ when the LORD hasn’t spoken a single word to them.

29 Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice.

30 “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.

31 So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”

Ezekiel 22 Commentary

Chapter 22

The sins of Jerusalem. (1-16) Israel is condemned as dross. (17-22) As the corruption is general, so shall be the punishment. (23-31)

Verses 1-16 The prophet is to judge the bloody city; the city of bloods. Jerusalem is so called, because of her crimes. The sins which Jerusalem stands charged with, are exceeding sinful. Murder, idolatry, disobedience to parents, oppression and extortion, profanation of the sabbath and holy things, seventh commandment sins, lewdness and adultery. Unmindfulness of God was at the bottom of all this wickedness. Sinners provoke God because they forget him. Jerusalem has filled the measure of her sins. Those who give up themselves to be ruled by their lusts, will justly be given up to be portioned by them. Those who resolve to be their own masters, let them expect no other happiness than their own hands can furnish; and a miserable portion it will prove.

Verses 17-22 Israel, compared with other nations, had been as the gold and silver compared with baser metals. But they were now as the refuse that is consumed in the furnace, or thrown away when the silver is refined. Sinners, especially backsliding professors, are, in God's account, useless and fit for nothing. When God brings his own people into the furnace, he sits by them as the refiner by his gold, to see that they are not continued there any longer than is fitting and needful. The dross shall be wholly separated, and the good metal purified. Let those who suffer pains, or lingering sickness, and find that their hearts can scarcely bear these light and momentary afflictions, take warning to flee from the wrath to come; for if these trials are not sanctified by the power of the Holy Spirit, to the cleansing their hearts and hands from sin, far worse things will come upon them.

Verses 23-31 All orders and degrees of men had helped to fill the measure of the nation's guilt. The people that had any power abused it, and even the buyers and sellers find some way to oppress one another. It bodes ill to a people when judgments are breaking in upon them, and the spirit of prayer is restrained. Let all who fear God, unite to promote his truth and righteousness; as wicked men of every rank and profession plot together to run them down.

Footnotes

• [a]. The Hebrew term (literally round things ) probably alludes to dung; also in 22:4 .
• [b]. As in one Hebrew manuscript and Greek and Syriac versions; Masoretic Text reads when you have been dishonored among the nations.
• [c]. As in Greek version; Hebrew reads prophets.

Chapter Summary

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.