The Sins of Jerusalem 1 Brenton And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, BSB BSB: Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 Brenton And thou, son of man, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, declare thou to her all her iniquities. BSB BSB: “As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations
3 Brenton And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord God: O city that sheds blood in the midst of her, so that her time should come, and that forms devices against herself, to defile herself; BSB BSB: and tell her that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O city who brings her own doom by shedding blood within her walls and making idols to defile herself,
4 Brenton in their blood which thou hast shed, thou hast transgressed; and in thy devices which thou hast formed, thou hast polluted thyself; and thou hast brought nigh thy days, and hast brought on the time of thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach to the Gentiles, and a mockery to all the countries, BSB BSB: you are guilty of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close and have come to the end of your years. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mockery to all the lands.
5 Brenton to those near thee, and to those far distant from thee; and they shall mock thee, thou that art notoriously unclean, and abundant in iniquities. BSB BSB: Those near and far will mock you, O infamous city, full of turmoil.
6 Brenton Behold, the princes of the house of Israel have conspired in thee each one with his kindred, that they might shed blood. BSB BSB: See how every prince of Israel within you has used his power to shed blood.
7 Brenton In thee they have reviled father and mother; and in thee they have behaved unjustly toward the stranger: they have oppressed the orphan and widow. BSB BSB: Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.
8 Brenton And they have set at nought my holy things, and in thee they have profaned my sabbaths. BSB BSB: You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
9 Brenton There are robbers in thee, to shed blood in thee; and in thee they have eaten upon the mountains: they have wrought ungodliness in the midst of thee.BSB BSB: Among you are slanderous men bent on bloodshed; within you are those who eat on the mountain shrines and commit acts of indecency.
10 Brenton In thee they have uncovered the father's shame; and in thee they have humbled her that was set apart for uncleanness. BSB BSB: In you they have uncovered the nakedness of their fathers; in you they violate women during their menstrual impurity.
11 Brenton They have dealt unlawfully each one with his neighbour's wife; and each one in ungodliness has defiled his daughter-in-law: and in thee they have humbled each one his sister, the daughter of his father. BSB BSB: One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.
12 Brenton In thee they have received gifts to shed blood; they have received in thee interest and usurious increase; and by oppression thou hast brought thy wickedness to the full, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord. BSB BSB: In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.
13 Brenton And if I shall smite my hand at thine iniquities which thou hast accomplished, which thou hast wrought, and at thy blood that has been shed in the midst of thee, BSB BSB: Now look, I strike My hands together against your unjust gain and against the blood you have shed in your midst.
14 Brenton shall thy heart endure? shall thine hands be strong in the days which I bring upon thee? I the Lord have spoken, and will do it . BSB BSB: Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will act.
15 Brenton And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee in the countries, and thy uncleanness shall be removed out of thee. BSB BSB: I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you throughout the lands; I will purge your uncleanness.
16 Brenton And I will give heritages in thee in the sight of the nations, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. BSB BSB: And when you have defiled yourself in the eyes of the nations, then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
The Refining Furnace 17 Brenton And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, BSB BSB: Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
18 Brenton Son of man, behold, the house of Israel are all become to me as it were mixed with brass, and iron, and tin, and lead; they are mixed up in the midst of silver. BSB BSB: “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver.
19 Brenton Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have become one mixture, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. BSB BSB: Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because all of you have become dross, behold, I will gather you into Jerusalem.
20 Brenton As silver, and brass, and iron, and tin, and lead, are gathered into the midst of the furnace, to blow fire into it, that they may be melted: so will I take you in my wrath, and I will gather and melt you. BSB BSB: Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to melt with a fiery blast, so I will gather you in My anger and wrath, leave you there, and melt you.
21 Brenton And I will blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. BSB BSB: Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted within the city.
22 Brenton As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath upon you. BSB BSB: As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted within the city. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out My wrath upon you.’”
Israel’s Wicked Leaders 23 Brenton And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, BSB BSB: And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
24 Brenton Son of man, say to her, Thou art the land that is not rained upon, neither has rain come upon thee in the day of wrath: BSB BSB: “Son of man, say to her, ‘In the day of indignation, you are a land that has not been cleansed, upon which no rain has fallen.’
25 Brenton whose princes in the midst of her are as roaring lions seizing prey, devouring souls by oppression, and taking bribes; and thy widows are multiplied in the midst of thee. BSB BSB: The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.
26 Brenton Her priests also have set at nought my law, and profaned my holy things: they have not distinguished between the holy and profane, nor have they distinguished between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I was profaned in the midst of them. BSB BSB: Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
27 Brenton Her princes in the midst of her are as wolves ravening to shed blood, that they may get dishonest gain. BSB BSB: Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
28 Brenton And her prophets that daub them shall fall, that see vanities, that prophesy falsehoods, saying, Thus saith the Lord, when the Lord has not spoken. BSB BSB: Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
29 Brenton That sorely oppress the people of the land with injustice, and commit robbery; oppressing the poor and needy, and not dealing justly with the stranger. BSB BSB: The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and have exploited the foreign resident without justice.
30 Brenton And I sought from among them a man behaving uprightly, and standing before me perfectly in the time of wrath, so that I should not utterly destroy her: but I found him not. BSB BSB: I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.
31 Brenton So I have poured out my wrath upon her in the fury of mine anger, to accomplish it . I have recompensed their ways on their own heads, saith the Lord God. BSB BSB: So I have poured out My indignation upon them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their ways down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”