1Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
2“You, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the city full of bloodshed? Then make her aware of all her detestable practices.
3You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says: “A city that sheds blood within herself, so that her time may come, and makes idols against herself to defile her!
4You have become guilty by the blood you have shed, and defiled by the idols you have made! You have brought your days to an end and reached your appointed years. Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all countries.
5Those who are near you and those who are far away will mock you, infamous city, full of turmoil.
6“‘“Look, the leaders of Israel, each using his power, have been within you to shed blood.
7Within you, they have treated father and mother with contempt. Among you, they have oppressed the foreigner. Within you, they have wronged the orphan and the widow.
8You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths.
9Slanderous men have been within you to shed blood. Within you, they have eaten on the mountains. They have committed immoral acts among you.
10In you, people have had sex with their fathers' wives. In you, people have shamed women who were unclean during their menstrual periods.
11One man has had sex with his neighbor's wife. Another has shamefully defiled his daughter-in-law. Another in you has had sex with his sister, his father's daughter.
12In you, people have taken bribes to murder. You have charged interest and unfairly increased prices, and you have greedily cheated your neighbors through oppression, and have forgotten me,” says the Lord Yahweh.
13“‘“Therefore, I will punish you for your dishonest gains and for the bloodshed that has been within you.
14Can you endure, or can you be strong, when I deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken it, and I will do it.
15I will scatter you among the nations and spread you throughout the countries. I will remove your filthiness from you.
16You will be shamed among the nations; and you will know that I am Yahweh.”’
17Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
18“Son of man, the people of Israel have become worthless to me. All of them are like brass, tin, iron, and lead in the middle of a furnace. They are like the impurities left over after refining silver.
19Therefore, this is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Because you have all become worthless impurities, I will gather you into Jerusalem.
20Just as people gather silver, brass, iron, lead, and tin into a furnace and blow on the fire to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and my wrath, and I will put you there and melt you.
21Yes, I will gather you and heat you with the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in it.
22Just as silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my wrath on you.’”,
23Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
24“Son of man, tell her, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed, nor rained on, during the time of punishment.’
25There is a plot among her prophets within her, like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They have devoured lives. They take treasure and valuable things. They have made many widows within her.
26Her priests have violated my law and treated my holy things as common. They have not distinguished between what is holy and what is common, nor have they taught people the difference between what is unclean and what is clean; and they have ignored my Sabbaths, so I am treated as common among them.
27Her leaders within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood and destroying lives, in order to get dishonest gain.
28Her prophets have covered up their sins with false assurances, seeing deceptive visions and telling lies to them, saying, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says,’ when Yahweh has not spoken.
29The people of the land have oppressed and robbed. Yes, they have mistreated the poor and needy, and have wrongly oppressed foreigners.
30"I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, so I would not have to destroy it. But I found no one.
31So I have poured out my anger on them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have brought their own actions down on their heads," says the Lord Yahweh.