English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
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God's Message came to me:
2 "And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations.
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"Son of man, are you going to judge this bloody city or not? Come now, are you going to judge her? Do it! Face her with all her outrageous obscenities.
3 You shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself!
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Tell her, 'This is what God, the Master, says: You're a city murderous at the core, just asking for punishment. You're a city obsessed with no-god idols, making yourself filthy.
4 You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries.
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In all your killing, you've piled up guilt. In all your idol-making, you've become filthy. You've forced a premature end to your existence. I'll put you on exhibit as the scarecrow of the nations, the world's worst joke.
5 Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult.
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From far and near they'll deride you as infamous in filth, notorious for chaos.
6 "Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood.
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"'Your leaders, the princes of Israel among you, compete in crime.
7 Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.
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You're a community that's insolent to parents, abusive to outsiders, oppressive against orphans and widows.
8 You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths.
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You treat my holy things with contempt and desecrate my Sabbaths.
9 There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst.
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You have people spreading lies and spilling blood, flocking to the hills to the sex shrines and fornicating unrestrained.
10 In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity.
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Incest is common. Men force themselves on women regardless of whether they're ready or willing.
11 One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter.
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Sex is now anarchy. Anyone is fair game: neighbor, daughter-in-law, sister.
12 In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.
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Murder is for hire, usury is rampant, extortion is commonplace. "'And you've forgotten me. Decree of God, the Master.
13 "Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst.
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"'Now look! I've clapped my hands, calling everyone's attention to your rapacious greed and your bloody brutalities.
14 Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.
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Can you stick with it? Will you be able to keep at this once I start dealing with you?
15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you.
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I'll throw you to the four winds. I'll scatter you all over the world. I'll put a full stop to your filthy living.
16 And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the LORD."
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You will be defiled, spattered with your own mud in the eyes of the nations. And you'll recognize that I am God.'"
17 And the word of the LORD came to me:
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God's Message came to me:
18 "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver.
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"Son of man, the people of Israel are slag to me, the useless byproduct of refined copper, tin, iron, and lead left at the smelter - a worthless slag heap.
19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
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So tell them, 'God, the Master, has spoken: Because you've all become worthless slag, you're on notice: I'll assemble you in Jerusalem.
20 As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you.
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As men gather silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into a furnace and blow fire on it to melt it down, so in my wrath I'll gather you and melt you down.
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.
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I'll blow on you with the fire of my wrath to melt you down in the furnace.
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; I have poured out my wrath upon you."
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As silver is melted down, you'll be melted down. That should get through to you. Then you'll recognize that I, God, have let my wrath loose on you.'"
23 And the word of the LORD came to me:
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God's Message came to me:
24 "Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation.
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"Son of man, tell her, 'You're a land that during the time I was angry with you got no rain, not so much as a spring shower.
25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
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The leaders among you became desperate, like roaring, ravaging lions killing indiscriminately. They grabbed and looted, leaving widows in their wake.
26 Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
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"'Your priests violated my law and desecrated my holy things. They can't tell the difference between sacred and secular. They tell people there's no difference between right and wrong. They're contemptuous of my holy Sabbaths, profaning me by trying to pull me down to their level.
27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.
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Your politicians are like wolves prowling and killing and rapaciously taking whatever they want.
28 And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken.
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Your preachers cover up for the politicians by pretending to have received visions and special revelations. They say, "This is what God, the Master, says . . ." when God hasn't said so much as one word.
29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.
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Extortion is rife, robbery is epidemic, the poor and needy are abused, outsiders are kicked around at will, with no access to justice.'
30 And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
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"I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land so I wouldn't have to destroy it. I couldn't find anyone. Not one.
31 Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord GOD."
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So I'll empty out my wrath on them, burn them to a crisp with my hot anger, serve them with the consequences of all they've done. Decree of God, the Master."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.