The Sins of Jerusalem

1Moreover the word of the LORD 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 GOD: 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 be near, and those that be 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 stranger: in thee have they wronged the fatherless and the widow. 8Thou hast despised mine 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 discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was unclean in her separation. 11And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour'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 usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by oppression, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.

13Behold, therefore, I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. 14Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD 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 the LORD.

The Refining Furnace

17And the word of the LORD 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 GOD: 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 fury, 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 shalt 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 the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.

The Sins of Prophets, Priests, Princes

23And the word of the LORD 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 mine holy things: they have put no difference 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 vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD 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 stranger wrongfully. 30And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the fence, 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 GOD.