Israel's Shedding of Blood
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And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
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"And you, 1son of man, 2will you judge, will you judge 3the bloody city? 4Then declare to her all her abominations.
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You shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that 5her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself!
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You have become guilty 6by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought 7your days near, the appointed time ofa your years has come. 8Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries.
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Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; 9your name is defiled; 10you are full of tumult.
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"Behold, 11the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood.
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Father and mother 12are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner 13suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow 14are wronged in you.
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17There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you 18who eat on the mountains; 19they commit lewdness in your midst.
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In you 20men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity.
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21One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; 22another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; 23another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter.
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In you 24they take bribes to shed blood; 25you take interest and profitb and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but 26me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.
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"Behold, 27I strike my hand at 28the dishonest gain that you have made, and at 29the blood that has been in your midst.
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30Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? 31I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.
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32I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and 33I will consume your uncleanness out of you.
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And 34you shall be profaned by your own doing 35in the sight of the nations, 36and you shall know that I am the LORD."
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And the word of the LORD came to me:
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37"Son of man, the house of Israel has become 38dross to me; all of them are 39bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are 40dross of silver.
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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
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As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, 41to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you 42in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you.
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I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it.
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As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD; 43I have poured out my wrath upon you."
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And the word of the LORD came to me:
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"Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is 44not cleansed 45or rained upon in the day of indignation.
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46The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is 47like a roaring lion 48tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
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49Her priests 50have done violence to my law and 51have profaned my holy things. 52They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and 53they have disregarded my Sabbaths, 54so that I am profaned among them.
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55Her princes in her midst are like wolves 56tearing the prey, 57shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.
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And 58her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, 59seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken.
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The people of the land 60have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and 61have extorted from the sojourner without justice.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)