Ezekiel 22

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
1 Thus the word of the LORD came to me:	1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 You, son of man, would you judge, would you judge the bloody city? Then make known all her abominations,	2 "And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominable deeds.
3 and say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the city which sheds blood within herself so that her time has come, and which has made idols for her own defilement.	3 You shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A city that sheds blood in the midst of her, that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself!
4 By the blood which you shed you have been made guilty, and with the idols you made you have become defiled; you have brought on your day, so that the end of your years has come. Therefore I make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all foreign lands.	4 You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and defiled by the idols which you have made; and you have brought your day near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mocking to all the countries.
5 Those near you and those far off shall deride you because of your foul reputation and your great perversity.	5 Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you infamous one, full of tumult.
6 See! the princes of Israel, family by family, are in you only for bloodshed.	6 "Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood.
7 Within you, father and mother are despised; in your midst, they extort from the resident alien; within you, they oppress orphans and widows.	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.
8 What is holy to me you have spurned, and my sabbaths you have desecrated.	8 You have despised my holy things, and profaned my sabbaths.
9 There are those in you who slander to cause bloodshed; within you are those who feast on the mountains; in your midst are those who do lewd things.	9 There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and men in you who eat upon the mountains; men commit lewdness in your midst.
10 In you are those who uncover the nakedness of their fathers, and in you those who coerce women in their menstrual period.	10 In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they humble women who are unclean in their impurity.
11 There are those in you who do abominable things with the wives of their neighbors, men who defile their daughters-in-law by incest, men who coerce their sisters, the daughters of their own fathers.	11 One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you defiles his sister, his father's daughter.
12 There are those in you who take bribes to shed blood. You exact interest and usury; you despoil your neighbors violently; and me you have forgotten, says the Lord GOD.	12 In you men take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and increase and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; and you have forgotten me, says the Lord GOD.
13 See, I am brushing one hand against the other because of the unjust profits you have made and because of the blood shed in your midst.	13 "Behold, therefore, I strike my hands together at the dishonest gain which you have made, and at the blood which has been in the midst of you.
14 Can your heart remain firm, will your hands be strong, in the days when I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will act.	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.
15 I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you over foreign lands, so that I may purge your uncleanness.	15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your filthiness out of you.
16 In you I will allow myself to be profaned in the eyes of the nations; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.	16 And I shall be profaned through you in the sight of the nations; and you shall know that I am the LORD."
17 Thus the word of the LORD came to me:	17 And the word of the LORD came to me:
18 Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross for me. All of them are bronze and tin, iron and lead (in the midst of a furnace): dross from silver have they become.	18 "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them, silver and bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace, have become dross.
19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because all of you have become dross, therefore I must gather you together within Jerusalem.	19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20 Just as silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered into a furnace and smelted in the roaring flames, so I will gather you together in my furious wrath, put you in, and smelt you.	20 As men gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire upon 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.
21 When I have assembled you, I will blast you with the fire of my anger and smelt you with it.	21 I will gather you and blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it.
22 You shall be smelted by it just as silver is smelted in a furnace. Thus you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out my fury on you.	22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it; and you shall know that I the LORD have poured out my wrath upon you."
23 Thus the word of the LORD came to me:	23 And the word of the LORD came to me:
24 Son of man, say to her: You are a land unrained on (that is, not rained on) at the time of my fury.	24 "Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed, or rained upon in the day of indignation.
25 Her princes are like roaring lions that tear prey; they devour people, seizing their wealth and precious things, and make widows of many within her.	25 Her princes in the midst of her are 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 the midst of her.
26 Her priests violate my law and profane what is holy to me; they do not distinguish between the sacred and the profane, nor teach the difference between the unclean and the clean; they pay no attention to my sabbaths, so that I have been profaned in their midst.	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.
27 Her nobles within her are like wolves that tear prey, shedding blood and destroying lives to get unjust gain.	27 Her princes in the midst of her are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.
28 Her prophets cover them with whitewash, pretending to visions that are false and performing lying divinations, saying, "Thus says the Lord GOD," although the LORD has not spoken.	28 And her prophets have daubed for them with whitewash, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken.
29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they afflict the poor and the needy, and oppress the resident alien without justice.	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 redress.
30 Thus I have searched among them for someone who could build a wall or stand in the breach before me to keep me from destroying the land; but I found no one.	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.
31 Therefore I have poured out my fury upon them; with my fiery wrath I have consumed them; I have brought down their conduct upon their heads, says the Lord GOD.	31 Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath; their way have I requited upon their heads, says the Lord GOD."