1SEINE Rede geschah zu mir, es sprach: 2Und du, Menschensohn, willst du zu Gericht ziehn, zu Gericht die Stadt der Blutschuld? Laß sie all ihre Greuel erkennen! 3Sprich: So hat mein Herr, ER, gesprochen: Stadt, die Blut in ihrer Mitte vergießt, daß ihre Zeit komme, und über sich Klötze macht, sich zu bemakeln! 4Durch dein Blut, das du vergossest, bist du strafwürdig worden, durch deine Klötze, die du machtest, bist du bemakelt. Nahgebracht hast du deinen Tag, bis in deine Jahre bist du gekommen, darum gebe ich dich den Stämmen als Hohn, allen Erdenländern als Spott, 5dich verspotten die dir nahen und fernen: Du makligen Namens! du groß an Getümmel! 6Wohl, die Fürsten von Jissrael, jedermann für seinen eignen Arm waren sie in dir, Blut zu vergießen. 7Vater, Mutter hielt gering man in dir, am Gastsassen übte man Erpressung in deiner Mitte, Waise, Witwe plackte man in dir. 8Meine Heiligtümer hast du verachtet, meine Wochenfeiern hast du preisgestellt. 9Verleumderische Männer waren in dir, Blut zu vergießen. Beim Berggelag aß man in dir, Unzucht übte man in deiner Mitte, 10die Blöße des Vaters machte mancher bar in dir, die Sondrungsmaklige beugte man in dir, 11mancher Mann übte Greuel mit dem Weib seines Genossen, mancher Mann bemakelte seine Schwiegerin mit Unzucht, mancher Mann beugte seine Schwester, seines Vaters Tochter, in dir. 12Bestechung nahm man in dir, Blut zu vergießen, Zins und Mehrung hast du genommen, ausgebeutet hast du deine Genossen mit Pressung. Mich aber hast du vergessen, Erlauten ists von meinem Herrn, IHM. 13Nun schlage ich mit meiner Hand drein, in deine Ausbeuterei, die du übst, auf dein Blutwerk, das geschieht in deiner Mitte. 14Wird nun standhalten dein Herz, werden stark bleiben deine Hände in den Tagen, da ich mich an dich mache?! ICH bins, ders redet, ders tut: 15ich versprenge unter die Weltstämme dich, streue dich in die Erdenländer, ganz tilge ich aus dir deinen Makel, 16preisgestellt an dir will ich werden vor der Weltstämme Augen, dann wirst du erkennen, daß ICH es bin. 17SEINE Rede geschah zu mir, sprach: 18Menschensohn, geworden sind mir die vom Haus Jissrael zu einer Schlackenmasse allsamt; was Erz, Zinn, Eisen, Blei inmitten des Ofens sind, ein silberhaltiges Schlackenwerk sind sie geworden. 19Darum, so hat mein Herr, ER, gesprochen, weil ihr alle zu Schlackenwerk worden seid, drum häufe ich euch nun inmitten Jerusalems. 20Wie man Silber, Erz, Eisen, Blei, Zinn mitten in den Ofen häuft, um Feuer dran zu fachen, es zu schmelzen, derart häufe ich in meinem Zorn, in meinem Grimm, ich schiebe ein, ich schmelze euch. 21Ich geselle euch zueinander, ich fauche wider euch mit dem Feuer meines Unmuts, daß ihr schmelzet ihm inmitten. 22Wie man Silber ausschmelzt inmitten des Ofens, so werdet ihr geschmelzt ihm inmitten. Dann werdet ihr erkennen, daß ICH es bin, der seine Grimmglut goß über euch. 23SEINE Rede geschah zu mir, es sprach: 24Menschensohn, sprich zu ihm: Du bist ein Land am Tage des Grolls, nicht beregnet ist es, nicht benetzt. 25Dessen Fürsten ihm inmitten sind wie ein brüllender Löwe, der Raub raubt: fressen Seelen, nehmen Hort und Wert, seine Witwen mehren sie ihm inmitten. 26Seine Priester verstümmeln meine Weisung, meine Heiligtümer geben sie preis, scheiden nicht zwischen Heiligem und Preisgegebnem, machen nicht kenntlich, wies zwischen Maklig und Rein ist, vor meinen Wochenfeiern bergen sie ihre Augen, preisgegeben bin ich in ihrer Mitte.. 27Seine Obern in seinem Innern sind wie Wölfe, die Raub rauben, Blut vergießend, Seelen schwendend, um Ausbeutung zu beuten. 28Seine Künder tünchen ihnen mit Schleim, schauen Wahn, losen ihnen Trug, sprechen: So hat mein Herr, ER, gesprochen! und ER hat nicht geredet. 29Die vom Landvolk pressen, pressen, plündern, plündern, placken den Bedrückten, den Dürftigen, pressen den Gastsassen wider Recht. 30Ich suchte unter ihnen einen Mann, der die Mauer zumauerte, der träte vor mir in die Bresche für das Land, daß ichs nicht verderbte, - ich habe nicht gefunden. 31Nun gieße ich über sie meinen Groll, vernichte sie im Feuer meines Unmuts, ihren Abweg gebe ich auf ihr Haupt. Erlauten ists von meinem Herrn, IHM.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 2 GOD'S JUDGMENT ON THE SINFULNESS OF JERUSALEM. (Eze. 22:1-31)
See
Ezek 20:4; that is, "Wilt thou not judge?" &c. (compare
Ezek 23:36).
the bloody city--literally, "the city of bloods"; so called on account of murders perpetrated in her, and sacrifices of children to Molech (
Ezek 22:3-
Ezek 22:4,
Ezek 22:6,
Ezek 22:9;
Ezek 24:6,
Ezek 24:9).
3 sheddeth blood . . . that her time may come--Instead of deriving advantage from her bloody sacrifices to idols, she only thereby brought on herself "the time" of her punishment.
against herself-- (
Pro 8:36).
4 thy days--the shorter period, namely, that of the siege.
thy years--the longer period of the captivity. The "days" and "years" express that she is ripe for punishment.
5 infamous--They mockingly call thee, "Thou polluted one in name (Margin), and full of confusion" [FAIRBAIRN], (referring to the tumultuous violence prevalent in it). Thus the nations "far and near" mocked her as at once sullied in character and in actual fact lawless. What a sad contrast to the Jerusalem once designated "'the holy city!"
6 Rather, "The princes . . . each according to his power, were in thee, to shed blood" (as if this was the only object of their existence). "Power," literally, "arm"; they, who ought to have been patterns of justice, made their own arm of might their only law.
7 set light by--Children have made light of, disrespected, father . . . (
Deut 27:16). At
Ezek 22:7-
Ezek 22:12 are enumerated the sins committed in violation of Moses' law.
9 men that carry tales--informers, who by misrepresentations cause innocent blood to be shed (
Lev 19:16). Literally, "one who goes to and fro as a merchant."
10 set apart for pollution--that is, set apart as unclean (
Lev 18:19).
12 forgotten me-- (
Deut 32:18;
Jer 2:32;
Jer 3:21).
13 smitten mine hand--in token of the indignant vengeance which I will execute on thee (see on
Ezek 21:17).
14 (
Ezek 21:7).
15 consume thy filthiness out of thee--the object of God in scattering the Jews.
16 take thine inheritance in thyself--Formerly thou wast Mine inheritance; but now, full of guilt, thou art no longer Mine, but thine own inheritance to thyself; "in the sight of the heathen," that is, even they shall see that, now that thou hast become a captive, thou art no longer owned as Mine [VATABLUS]. FAIRBAIRN and others needlessly take the Hebrew from a different root, "thou shalt be polluted by ('in,' [HENDERSON]) thyself," &c.; the heathen shall regard thee as a polluted thing, who hast brought thine own reproach on thyself.
18 dross . . . brass--Israel has become a worthless compound of the dross of silver (implying not merely corruption, but degeneracy from good to bad,
Isa 1:22, especially offensive) and of the baser metals. Hence the people must be thrown into the furnace of judgment, that the bad may be consumed, and the good separated (
Jer 6:29-
Jer 6:30).
23 From this verse to the end he shows the general corruption of all ranks.
24 land . . . not cleansed--not cleared or cultivated; all a scene of desolation; a fit emblem of the moral wilderness state of the people.
nor rained upon--a mark of divine "indignation"; as the early and latter rain, on which the productiveness of the land depended, was one of the great covenant blessings. Joel (
Joel 2:23) promises the return of the former and latter rain, with the restoration of God's favor.
25 conspiracy--The false prophets have conspired both to propagate error and to oppose the messages of God's servants. They are mentioned first, as their bad influence extended the widest.
prey--Their aim was greed of gain, "treasure, and precious things" (
Hos 6:9;
Zeph 3:3-
Zeph 3:4;
Matt 23:14).
made . . . many widows--by occasioning, through false prophecies, the war with the Chaldeans in which the husbands fell.
26 Her priests--whose "lips should have kept knowledge" (
Mal 2:7).
violated--not simply transgressed; but, have done violence to the law, by wresting it to wrong ends, and putting wrong constructions on it.
put no difference between the holy and profane, &c.--made no distinction between the clean and unclean (
Lev 10:10), the Sabbath and other days, sanctioning violations of that holy day. "Holy" means, what is dedicated to God; "profane," what is in common use; "unclean," what is forbidden to be eaten; "clean," what is lawful to be eaten.
I am profaned among them--They abuse My name to false or unjust purposes.
27 princes--who should have employed the influence of their position for the people's welfare, made "gain" their sole aim.
wolves--notorious for fierce and ravening cruelty (
Mic 3:2-
Mic 3:3,
Mic 3:9-
Mic 3:11;
John 10:12).
28 Referring to the false assurances of peace with which the prophets flattered the people, that they should not submit to the king of Babylon (see on
Ezek 13:10;
Ezek 21:29;
Jer 6:14;
Jer 23:16-
Jer 23:17;
Jer 27:9-
Jer 27:10).
29 The people--put last, after the mention of those in office. Corruption had spread downwards through the whole community.
wrongfully--that is, "without cause," gratuitously, without the stranger proselyte giving any just provocation; nay, he of all others being one who ought to have been won to the worship of Jehovah by kindness, instead of being alienated by oppression; especially as the Israelites were commanded to remember that they themselves had been "strangers in Egypt" (
Exod 22:21;
Exod 23:9).
30 the hedge--the wall (see on
Ezek 13:5); image for leading the people to repentance.
the gap--the breach (
Ps 106:23); image for interceding between the people and God (
Gen 20:7;
Exod 32:11;
Num 16:48).
I found none-- (
Jer 5:1) --not that literally there was not a righteous man in the city. For Jeremiah, Baruch, &c., were still there; but Jeremiah had been forbidden to pray for the people (
Jer 11:14), as being doomed to wrath. None now, of the godly, knowing the desperate state of the people, and God's purpose as to them, was willing longer to interpose between God's wrath and them. And none "among them," that is, among those just enumerated as guilty of such sins (
Ezek 22:25-
Ezek 22:29), was morally able for such an office.
31 their own way . . . recompensed upon their heads-- (
Ezek 9:10;
Ezek 11:21;
Ezek 16:43;
Pro 1:31;
Isa 3:11;
Jer 6:19).
The imagery is similar to that in the sixteenth chapter; but here the reference is not as there so much to the breach of the spiritual marriage covenant with God by the people's idolatries, as by their worldly spirit, and their trusting to alliances with the heathen for safety, rather than to God.