The Lord Judges Jerusalem for Its Sins
1A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said,
2“Son of man, are you going to judge Jerusalem? Will you judge this city that has so many murderers in it? Then tell its people they have done many evil things. I hate those things. 3Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “Your city brings death on itself. You spill blood inside its walls. You make yourselves ‘unclean’ by making statues of gods. 4You are guilty of spilling blood. Your statues have made you ‘unclean.’ You have brought your days to a close. The end of your years has come. So the nations will make fun of you. All the countries will laugh at you. 5Those who are near you will tell jokes about you. So will those who are far away. Trouble fills the streets of your sinful city.
6“ ‘ “The princes of Israel are in your city. All of them use their power to spill blood. 7They have made fun of fathers and mothers alike. They have crushed outsiders. They have treated badly the children whose fathers have died. They have done the same thing to widows. 8You have looked down on the holy things that were set apart to me. You have misused my Sabbath days. 9You have spread lies about others so you can spill someone’s blood. You eat at the mountain temples. You commit impure acts. 10You bring shame on your fathers by having sex with their wives. You have sex with women during their monthly period. That is when they are ‘unclean.’ 11One of you has sex with another man’s wife. I hate that sin. Another brings shame on his daughter-in-law by having sex with her. Still another has sex with his sister, even though she is his own father’s daughter. 12You accept money from people who want special favors. You do this to spill someone’s blood. You charge interest to poor people when you lend them money. You make money from them. You get rich by cheating your neighbors. And you have forgotten me,” announces the Lord and King.
13“ ‘ “I will clap my hands because I am so angry. You got rich by cheating others. You spilled blood inside the walls of your city. 14Will you be brave on the day I deal with you? Will you be strong at that time? I have spoken. I will do this. I am the Lord. 15I will scatter you among the nations. I will send you to other countries. I will put an end to your ‘uncleanness.’ 16You will be ‘unclean’ in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
17A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 18“Son of man, the people of Israel have become like scum to me. All of them are like the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are only the scum that is removed from silver.” 19So the Lord and King says, “People of Israel, all of you have become like scum. So I will gather you together in Jerusalem. 20People put silver, copper, iron, lead and tin into a furnace. They melt it with a blazing fire. In the same way, I will gather you. I will pour out my burning anger on you. I will put you inside the city and melt you. 21I will gather you together. My burning anger will blaze out at you. And you will be melted inside Jerusalem. 22Silver is melted in a furnace. And you will be melted inside the city. Then you will know that I have poured out my burning anger on you. I am the Lord.”
23Another message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 24“Son of man, speak to the land. Tell it, ‘You have not been washed clean with rain. That’s because I am angry with you.’ 25Ezekiel, the princes of the land are like a roaring lion that tears its food apart. They eat people up. They take treasures and other valuable things. They cause many women in the land to become widows. 26Its priests break my law. They treat things set apart to me as if they were not holy. They treat holy and common things as if they were the same. They teach that there is no difference between things that are ‘clean’ and things that are not. They refuse to keep my Sabbath days. So they treat me as if I were not holy. 27The officials in the land are like wolves that tear their food apart. They spill blood and kill people to get rich. 28The prophets cover up these acts for them. The visions of these prophets are false. They use magic to try to find out what is going to happen. But their magic tricks are lies. They say, ‘The Lord and King says.’ But I have not spoken to them. 29The people of the land get rich by cheating others. They steal. They crush those who are poor and in need. They treat outsiders badly. They refuse to be fair to them.
30“I looked for someone among them who would stand up for Jerusalem. I tried to find someone who would pray to me for the land. Then I would not have to destroy it. But I could not find anyone who would pray for it. 31So I will pour out my anger on its people. I will destroy them because of my great anger against them. And anything that happens to them will be their own fault,” announces the Lord and King.
耶路撒冷的罪惡
1耶和華對我說： 2「人子啊，你要審判耶路撒冷這殺人流血的城。你要審判她，使她知道自己一切可憎的行為。 3你要向她宣告主耶和華的話，說，『唉，你這殺人流血、製造偶像玷污自己的城啊，你的末日到了。 4你既犯罪殺人、製造偶像玷污自己、自招審判，我要使你成為列國列邦侮辱和譏諷的對象。 5你這聲名狼藉、混亂不堪的城將要受到遠近各國的恥笑。
6「『看啊，在你城中的以色列首領各逞權勢，殺人流血。 7他們輕慢父母，壓迫寄居者，欺負孤兒寡婦。 8他們藐視我的聖物，褻瀆我的安息日。 9在你這城中，有人好誹謗、殺人流血，有人在山上吃祭物，有人淫亂， 10有人與繼母通姦，羞辱父親，有人姦污經期不潔的婦女， 11有人與鄰居的妻子幹出可憎之事，有人玷污自己的兒媳婦，有人姦污自己的同父姊妹。 12在你這城中，他們受賄殺人，放債取利，壓榨鄰居，早把我忘了。這是主耶和華說的。
13「『我見你謀財害命，就擊掌歎息。 14在我懲罰你的日子，你還有勇氣和力量嗎？我耶和華言出必行， 15我要把你驅散到列國，分散到列邦，我要除掉你的污穢。 16你必在列國面前受凌辱，你便知道我是耶和華。』」
17耶和華對我說： 18「人子啊，在我看來，以色列人已經變成了渣滓。他們是爐中的銅、錫、鐵、鉛，都是銀渣滓。 19所以主耶和華說，『你們既是渣滓，我要把你們聚集在耶路撒冷城。 20我要在烈怒中把你們聚集在城裡熔化，就像人把銀、銅、鐵、鉛、錫聚在高溫的爐中熔化一樣。 21我要聚集你們，把我的怒火倒在你們身上，熔化你們。 22你們要在城中熔化，就像銀在煉爐中熔化。你們就知道我耶和華已將我的烈怒傾倒在你們身上。』」
23耶和華對我說： 24「人子啊，你要對以色列說，『在我發怒的日子，將沒有雨水滋潤你這不潔之地。 25你的首領圖謀惡事，好像咆哮著撕碎獵物的獅子，他們草菅人命，搶奪財寶，使多人變成寡婦。 26你的祭司強解我的律法，褻瀆我的聖物。他們聖俗不分，也不教導人分辨潔淨的和污穢的。他們藐視我的安息日，褻瀆我。 27你的首領好像撕碎獵物的豺狼，殺人流血，謀取不義之財。 28你的先知對他們說虛假的異象和占卜，像用白灰刷牆一樣掩蓋他們的罪惡，說，耶和華這樣說，其實耶和華沒有說。 29你的居民強取豪奪，欺壓貧困的，虐待寄居的，無法無天。 30我想在他們中間尋找一位重修城牆的人，站在我面前為這地方堵住缺口，免得我毀滅這裡。可是，我一個也找不到。 31因此，我要向他們傾倒我的烈怒，用怒火滅盡他們，照他們的所作所為報應他們。這是主耶和華說的。』」
