1Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me , saying , 2And thou , son of man , wilt thou judge , wilt thou judge the bloody city ? then cause her to know all her abominations . 3And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : A city that sheddeth blood in the midst of her , that her time may come , and that maketh idols against herself to defile her ! 4Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed , and art defiled in thine idols which thou hast made ; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near , and art come even unto thy years : therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the nations , and a mocking to all the countries. 5Those that are near , and those that are far from thee, shall mock thee, thou infamous one and full of tumult . 6Behold , the princes of Israel , every one according to his power , have been in thee to shed blood . 7In thee have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the sojourner ; in thee have they wronged the fatherless and the widow. 8Thou hast despised my holy things , and hast profaned my sabbaths . 9Slanderous men have been in thee to shed blood ; and in thee they have eaten upon the mountains : in the midst of thee they have committed lewdness . 10In thee have they uncovered their fathers’ nakedness ; in thee have they humbled her that was unclean in her impurity . 11And one hath committed abomination with his neighbor ’s wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law ; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father’s daughter . 12In thee have they taken bribes to shed blood ; thou hast taken interest and increase , and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by oppression , and hast forgotten me , saith the Lord Jehovah . 13Behold , therefore , I have smitten my hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made , and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee . 14Can thy heart endure , or can thy hands be strong , in the days that I shall deal with thee ? I , Jehovah , have spoken it , and will do it . 15And I will scatter thee among the nations , and disperse thee through the countries; and I will consume thy filthiness out of thee. 16And thou shalt be profaned in thyself, in the sight of the nations ; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah .
The Consequences of Sin
17And the word of Jehovah came unto me , saying , 18Son of man , the house of Israel is become dross unto me : all of them are brass and tin and iron and lead , in the midst of the furnace ; they are the dross of silver . 19Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah : Because ye are all become dross , therefore , behold , I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem . 20As they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace , to blow the fire upon it , to melt it ; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my wrath , and I will lay you there , and melt you . 21Yea, I will gather you , and blow upon you with the fire of my wrath , and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof . 22As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace , so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof ; and ye shall know that I , Jehovah , have poured out my wrath upon you . 23And the word of Jehovah came unto me , saying , 24Son of man , say unto her , Thou art a land that is not cleansed , nor rained upon in the day of indignation . 25There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof , like a roaring lion ravening the prey : they have devoured souls ; they take treasure and precious things ; they have made her widows many in the midst thereof . 26Her 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 caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean , and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths , and I am profaned among them . 27Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey , to shed blood , and to destroy souls , that they may get dishonest gain . 28And her prophets have daubed for them with untempered mortar , seeing false visions , and divining lies unto them , saying , Thus saith the Lord Jehovah , when Jehovah hath not spoken . 29The people of the land have used oppression , and exercised robbery ; yea, they have vexed the poor and needy , and have oppressed the sojourner wrongfully . 30And I sought for a man among them , that should build up the wall , and stand in the gap before me for the land , that I should not destroy it ; but I found none . 31Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them ; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath : their own way have I brought upon their heads , saith the Lord Jehovah .