Ezekiel 22:1-30

YAHWEH spoke to me again and said, “Son of man, are you ready to judge the city of murderers? You must confront her with all the disgusting things she has done! Prophesy to the city what I, Lord YAHWEH, say to them: ‘Jerusalem, you bring doom upon yourselves because you have shed the blood of so many. You are defiled by your man-made gods. You have become guilty by the blood you have shed and defiled by your hand-made gods. Your time is up! Your day of reckoning is on the way. Therefore, I have made you an object of scorn and a laughingstock to all the nations. Nations near and far will taunt you, O infamous city, full of turmoil. “ ‘Behold! The leaders of Israel within your walls, one and all, have selfishly abused their power to shed blood. They have despised their fathers and mothers, cheated the foreigners who live within your walls, and mistreated the widow and orphan. All that I call holy, you have treated with contempt. You have dishonored my Sabbaths. In your city are those who slander in order to have someone murdered. Living among you are those who eat food sacrificed to false gods in mountain shrines and commit obscene acts. Your men have sex with their father’s wives. They force themselves on women who are having their periods and are ceremonially unclean. In your city a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, and another man seduces his daughter-in-law or sister, his own father’s daughter. Some of your people will murder for pay. Some extort their neighbors with threats of violence, charging them exorbitant interest for obscene profits, yet they have entirely forgotten about me! I, Lord YAHWEH, have spoken. “ ‘Now I will bring my fists down on your acts of robbery and murder in your midst! Do you think your courage will endure when I am through with you? Do you think your hands will remain steady on your day of reckoning? I, YAHWEH, have spoken, and I will do it! “ ‘I will scatter you among the nations and send you into exile to foreign countries. I will put an end to the uncleanness within you. Because of your own actions, you will be grossly defiled in the sight of the nations, and then you will understand and realize that I am YAHWEH.’ ” YAHWEH spoke to me, saying, “Son of man, for me, the people of Israel have become worthless dross. They all have become like the useless byproduct of refined silver, bronze, tin, iron, lead, all mixed up together and left in the smelter; they are dross. Therefore, I, Lord YAHWEH, say to the people of Jerusalem, ‘Since you have all become worthless dross, leftover metal, I will collect you inside Jerusalem. Just as the metalsmith collects silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin in the furnace, and the fire is fanned underneath to melt them down, so I will collect you there and melt you down in my furious anger. I will put you all in the furnace and fan the fire of my rage to burn against you. I will melt you there in the middle of the furnace. As silver is refined in the smelter, so you will be melted down inside the city, and you will understand and recognize that I, YAHWEH, have vented my fury against you.’ ” YAHWEH YAHWEH spoke to me again and said: “Son of man, say to Israel, ‘You are a land that has had no shower nor cleansing rain on the day of my anger. Your prophets plot conspiracies as lions stalk their prey. They have devoured the people, enriched themselves by seizing their wealth and jewels, and left behind many widows. Her priests have violated my law and have no respect for what is holy. They have made no distinction between what is holy and what is common. They have not taught people the difference between clean and unclean; they ignore my Sabbaths, and I have been defiled among them. Within the land are leaders who are like a pack of wolves who rip apart their prey, shed blood, and kill people to get money dishonestly. Her false prophets have plastered over these things with their empty visions and false prophecies, saying: “YAHWEH says this,” even though I, YAHWEH, have not spoken. The people of the land have practiced extortion and robbery! They have oppressed the poor and needy and mistreated the foreigner among them who have no way of getting justice.’ ” “I searched for someone who would repair the wall, one who fills the gap, an intercessor to cry out for mercy, but I found no one. There was no one found who would keep my justice from destroying the nation.