1 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? yes, you will inform her of all her abominations.

3 Therefore say, The Lord GOD says, O city that murders people in its midst, bringing on its doom, and defiles itself by making idols.

4 The blood that you have shed makes you guilty; and you have defiled yourself by the idols that you have made; you have brought your final days near, and have come to the end of your years: therefore I will make you a disgrace to the heathen, and an object of jest in all nations.

5 Those that are near, and those that are far from you, will mock you, who are infamous and full of turmoil.

6 Look at how all of the rulers of Israel have used their authority to commit murder.

7 Within you fathers and mothers are dishonored: within you foreigners are oppressed: and orphans and widows are exploited.

8 You have despised my holy things, and defiled my sabbaths.

9 Within you are people who spread accusations in order to have others killed: and those who eat food sacrificed to idols on the mountains: in your midst they commit sexual sins.

10 Within you men commit adultery with their father’s wife: and humble women unclean because of their period.

11 One man commits abominable acts with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter in law; and another rapes his sister, his father’s daughter.

12 In you they have taken payment to commit murder; acted as loan sharks, used extortion to profit at their neighbor’s expense, and have forgotten me, says the Lord GOD.

13 Therefore know that I have struck my hand at the dishonest gain which you have made, and at the blood which has been in the midst of you.

14 Will you still have courage, and act strong, in the days when I deal with you? I the LORD have said it, and will do it.

15 I will scatter you among the heathen, and disperse you among the nations, and purge away your filthiness out of you.

16 Then you will be dishonored in the sight of the heathen, and you will know that I am the LORD.

17 ¶ And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18 Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross as far as I am concerned: all of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are the dross of silver.

19 Therefore the Lord GOD says; Because you have all become dross, know therefore that I will gather you in Jerusalem.

20 As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin, in a furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in my anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.

21 Yes, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it.

22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of Jerusalem and you will know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.

23 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

24 Son of man, say to her, You are a land that has not been cleansed, or rained upon in the day of my wrath.

25 There is a conspiracy of false prophets in her midst, like roaring lions consuming the prey; they have devoured souls; while taking their treasures and valuable belongings; and they have made many widows in her midst.

26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have made no distinction between the holy and profane, nor have they taught the difference between what is clean and unclean, and they shut their eyes to my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

27 Her leaders within her are like wolves devouring the prey, in shedding blood, in destroying souls, and in getting dishonest gain.

28 And her prophets smear whitewash over these things, providing them with false visions, and lying divinations, saying, The Lord GOD says, when the LORD has not spoken.

29 The people of the land oppress, and rob, and have wronged the poor and needy: and have unlawfully exploited foreigners.

30 And when I looked for a man among them, who would build up the wall, and stand in the gap before me for the land, so that I would not destroy it: I did not find any.

31 Therefore I have poured out my wrath upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my fury: and brought their actions down on their own heads, says the Lord GOD.