Ezekiel 22

1Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

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2'As for you, son of man, will you judge the city of blood? Show her all her lawlessness.

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3You will say, 'Thus says the Lord and Master: 'O city that sheds blood in her midst—her time has come—and that makes inventions against herself,

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4so as to defile herself with their blood you shed, you fell away, and in the inventions you made you defiled yourself, and caused your days to draw near; and you have come to the end of your years;

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5therefore, I made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all countries near you and those far away from you. They will mock at you, saying, 'She is abominable and unclean, and great is her lawlessness!'

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6Behold, the leaders of the house conspired together within you, each with his relatives, to shed blood.

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7Within you they speak evil of father and mother, and behave unjustly toward the resident alien. Within you they oppress the orphan, and within you, the widow.

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8Within you they despise My holy things, and within you they desecrate My Sabbaths.

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9Within you men are robbers that shed blood within you, and eat on the mountains within you. They do unholy things in your midst.

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10Within you they uncover the father's shame, and within you violate women set apart during their impurity.

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11One man acts lawlessly with his neighbor's wife; another defiles his daughter-in-law in ungodliness; and within you another violates his sister, his father's daughter.

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12Within you they accept gifts so as to shed blood. Within you they receive interest and unjust gains, and by oppression you bring your evil to the full. But you forgot Me,' says the Lord.

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13'Therefore, if I strike My hands against the evils you bring to the full—against the things you are doing—and against the bloodshed occurring in your midst,

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14will your heart endure, will your hands remain strong in the days I deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and will do it.

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15I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you in the countries; and your uncleanness will cease among you.

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16I shall make the Gentiles the owners of your inheritance. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.' ' '

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17Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

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18'Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is mixed before Me—they are altogether mixed—the house is mixed together in the midst of the silver, with bronze, iron, tin, and lead.

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19Therefore thus says the Lord: 'Because all of you are one mixture, therefore, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem,

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20as men gather silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to cast it like metal into a mold. Thus I shall gather you in My wrath, and bring you together and cast you.

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21I shall blow on you with the fire of My wrath and cast you in her midst.

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22As silver is cast into a mold in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be cast in her midst. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out My anger upon you.' '

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23Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

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24'Son of man, say to her, 'You are the land not rained on, neither has rain come upon you in the day of wrath.'

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25Her leaders are like roaring lions seizing prey, who devour souls by domination and receive honors in wrongdoing; and your widows multiply in your midst.

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26Her priests reject My law and desecrate My holy things. They no longer distinguish between the holy and the profane, nor between the unclean and the clean. They have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am desecrated in their midst.

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27Her rulers in her midst are like wolves seizing their prey, so as to shed blood and exploit others for greed.

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28Her prophets who anoint them will fall because they see worthless and false prophecies, saying, 'Thus says the Lord,' but the Lord has not spoken,

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29and because they oppress the people of the land in wrongdoing, commit robbery, oppress the poor and needy, and do not treat the resident alien with upright judgment.

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30So I sought for a man among them who would conduct himself rightly and stand before Me perfectly at all times in the land, so as not to wipe her out completely; but I did not find him.

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31Therefore I poured out My anger in the fire of my wrath to finish them, and I recompensed their ways on their heads,' says the Lord and Master.

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