221 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying , 2 "And you, son of man , will you judge , will you judge the bloody city ? Then cause her to know all her abominations . 3 "You shall say , 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "A city shedding blood in her midst , so that her time will come , and that makes idols , contrary to her interest, for defilement ! 4 "You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed , and defiled by your idols which you have made . Thus you have brought your day near and have come to your years ; therefore e I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands . 5 "Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you of ill repute , full of turmoil . 6 "Behold , the rulers of Israel , each according to his power , have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood . 7 "They have treated father and mother lightly within you. The alien they have oppressed e in your midst ; the fatherless and the widow they have wronged in you. 8 "You have despised My holy things and profaned My sabbaths . 9 "Slanderous men have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood , and in you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have committed acts of lewdness . 10 "In you they have uncovered their fathers' nakedness ; in you they have humbled her who was unclean in her menstrual impurity . 11 "One has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law . And another in you has humbled his sister , his father's daughter . 12 "In you they have taken bribes to shed blood ; you have taken interest and profits , and you have injured your neighbors for gain by oppression , and you have forgotten Me," declares the Lord GOD . 13 "Behold , then, I smite My hand at your dishonest gain which you have acquired and at the bloodshed which is among you. 14 "Can your heart endure , or can your hands be strong in the days that I will deal with you? I, the Lord , have spoken and will act . 15 "I will scatter you among the nations and I will disperse you through the lands , and I will consume your uncleanness from you. 16 "You will profane yourself in the sight of the nations , and you will know that I am the Lord .""'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 22:1-16
Commentary on Ezekiel 22:1-16
(Read Ezekiel 22:1-16)
The prophet is to judge the bloody city; the city of bloods. Jerusalem is so called, because of her crimes. The sins which Jerusalem stands charged with, are exceeding sinful. Murder, idolatry, disobedience to parents, oppression and extortion, profanation of the sabbath and holy things, seventh commandment sins, lewdness and adultery. Unmindfulness of God was at the bottom of all this wickedness. Sinners provoke God because they forget him. Jerusalem has filled the measure of her sins. Those who give up themselves to be ruled by their lusts, will justly be given up to be portioned by them. Those who resolve to be their own masters, let them expect no other happiness than their own hands can furnish; and a miserable portion it will prove.