Ezekiel 22:2

“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

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God speaks to Ezekiel immediately after delivering His opening declaration about Jerusalem's corruption. The prophet is addressed as "son of man" and instructed to confront the city directly.

The words — The Hebrew הַ/דָּמִ֑ים (ha./da.Mim) literally means "the bloods," and the double interrogative הֲ/תִשְׁפֹּ֥ט הֲ/תִשְׁפֹּ֖ט (ha./tish.Pot ha./tish.Pot) repeats "will you judge?" to stress the command.

The thread — This "city of bloodshed" designation reappears in Ezekiel 24:6 and Ezekiel 24:9, while the command to declare transgression parallels Isaiah 58:1.

Why it lands — The text demands a direct judicial confrontation with Jerusalem's violent idolatry before any pronouncement of doom. A reader must first name specific sins exactly as stated, recognizing that prophetic judgment requires explicit indictment rather than vague condemnation.

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

וְאַתָּ֣הve./'a.Tahand/ you בֶן־ven-O son of אָדָ֔ם'a.Damhumankind הֲתִשְׁפֹּ֥טha./tish.Pot¿/ will you judge הֲתִשְׁפֹּ֖טha./tish.Pot¿/ will you judge אֶת־'et-<obj.>עִ֣יר'ir[the] city of הַדָּמִ֑יםha./da.Mim<the>/ blood<s>וְה֣וֹדַעְתָּ֔הּve./Ho.da'.Ta/hand/ you will make known to/ it אֵ֖ת'et<obj.>כָּל־kol-all תּוֹעֲבוֹתֶֽיהָ׃to.'a.vo.Tei./haabominations/ its

King James Version

Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 24:6 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot now rusted, whose rust will not come off! Empty it piece by piece; cast no lots for its contents.
Ezekiel 24:9 Yes, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the city of bloodshed! I, too, will pile the kindling high.
Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.
Ezekiel 20:4 Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Confront them with the abominations of their fathers
Hosea 4:2 Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.
Nahum 3:1 Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey.
Matthew 27:25 All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—
2 Kings 21:16 Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.
Luke 11:50 As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world,