The Sins of Jerusalem

1And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 2'And thou, son of man, dost thou judge? dost thou judge the city of blood? then thou hast caused it to know all its abominations, 3and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The city is shedding blood in its midst, For the coming in of its time, And it hath made idols on it for defilement. 4By thy blood that thou hast shed thou hast been guilty, And by thine idols that thou hast made thou hast been defiled, And thou causest thy days to draw near, And art come in unto thine years, Therefore I have given thee a reproach to nations, And a derision to all the lands. 5The near and the far-off from thee scoff at thee, O defiled of name -- abounding in trouble.

6Lo, princes of Israel -- each according to his arm Have been in thee to shed blood. 7Father and mother made light of in thee, To a sojourner they dealt oppressively in thy midst, Fatherless and widow they oppressed in thee. 8My holy things thou hast despised, And My sabbaths thou hast polluted. 9Men of slander have been in thee to shed blood, And on the mountains they have eaten in thee, Wickedness they have done in thy midst. 10The nakedness of a father hath one uncovered in thee, The defiled of impurity they humbled in thee. 11And each with the wife of his neighbour hath done abomination, And each his daughter-in-law hath defiled through wickedness, And each his sister, his father's daughter, hath humbled in thee. 12A bribe they have taken in thee to shed blood, Usury and increase thou hast taken, And cuttest off thy neighbour by oppression, And Me thou hast forgotten, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!

13And lo, I have smitten My hand, Because of thy dishonest gain that thou hast gained, And for thy blood that hath been in thy midst. 14Doth thy heart stand -- are thy hands strong, For the days that I am dealing with thee? I, Jehovah, have spoken and have done it. 15And I have scattered thee among nations, And have spread thee out among lands, And consumed thy uncleanness out of thee. 16And thou hast been polluted in thyself Before the eyes of nations, And thou hast known that I am Jehovah.'

The Refining Furnace

17And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 'Son of man, 18The house of Israel hath been to Me for dross, All of them are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, In the midst of a furnace -- dross hath silver been, 19Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of your all becoming dross, Therefore, lo, I am gathering you unto the midst of Jerusalem, 20A gathering of silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, Unto the midst of a furnace -- to blow on it fire, to melt it, So do I gather in Mine anger and in My fury, And I have let rest, and have melted you. 21And I have heaped you up, And blown on you in the fire of My wrath, And ye have been melted in its midst. 22As the melting of silver in the midst of a furnace, So are ye melted in its midst, And ye have known that I, Jehovah, I have poured out My fury upon you.'

The Sins of Prophets, Priests, Princes

23And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying: 24Son of man, say to it, Thou art a land, It is not cleansed nor rained on in a day of indignation. 25A conspiracy of its prophets is in its midst, as a roaring lion tearing prey; The soul they have devoured, Wealth and glory they have taken, Its widows have multiplied in its midst. 26Its priests have wronged My law, And they pollute My holy things, Between holy and common they have not made separation, And between the unclean and the clean they have not made known, And from my sabbaths they have hidden their eyes, And I am pierced in their midst. 27Its princes in its midst are as wolves, Tearing prey, to shed blood, to destroy souls, For the sake of gaining dishonest gain. 28And its prophets have daubed for them with chalk, Seeing a vain thing, and divining for them a lie, Saying, 'Thus said the Lord Jehovah:' And Jehovah hath not spoken. 29The people of the land have used oppression, And have taken plunder violently away, And humble and needy have oppressed, And the sojourner oppressed -- without judgment. 30And I seek of them a man making a fence, And standing in the breach before Me, In behalf of the land -- not to destroy it, And I have not found. 31And I pour out on them mine indignation, By fire of My wrath I have consumed them, Their way on their own head I have put, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'