Bible Strands
Ezekiel 22:13
Now look, I strike My hands together against your unjust gain and against the blood you have shed in your midst.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord speaks through Ezekiel to the house of Israel during a prophetic indictment of Jerusalem's moral collapse. This declaration immediately follows a catalog of social sins including bribery, usury, and extortion in Ezekiel 22:12.
The words — The phrase הִכֵּ֣יתִי כַפִּ֔י (hi.Kei.ti kha.P/i) translates literally to "I will strike My palm." This physical gesture is directed specifically against the people's unjust gain (בִּצְעֵ֖ךְ, bitz.'E/kh) and the bloodshed occurring within their own community.
The thread — The hand-striking motif appears in Ezekiel 21:14 and Ezekiel 21:17 as a prophetic sign of impending judgment, while the condemnation of extortion and bribes aligns with the standard in Isaiah 33:15. These references establish the gesture as a recurring biblical symbol of God's decisive intervention against systemic corruption.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize that divine judgment targets organized exploitation and communal violence rather than isolated moral failures. It demands a clear-eyed acknowledgment that God's actions are a direct, measured response to human injustice.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 33:15 He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—
- Ezekiel 21:17 I too will strike My hands together, and I will satisfy My wrath.’ I, the LORD, have spoken.”
- Ezekiel 21:14 ‘So then, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike two times, even three. It is a sword that slays, a sword of great slaughter closing in on every side!
- Ezekiel 22:27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
- Amos 2:6 This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.
- Numbers 24:10 Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together and said to Balaam, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times.
- Proverbs 28:8 He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.
- Jeremiah 5:26 For among My people are wicked men; they watch like fowlers lying in wait; they set a trap to catch men.
- Jeremiah 7:9 Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,
- Amos 3:10 “For they know not how to do right,” declares the LORD. “They store up violence and destruction in their citadels.”