Bible Strands
Ezekiel 22:3
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,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord GOD commands Ezekiel to confront Jerusalem with a pronouncement of judgment. This occurs within a broader oracle where the prophet is tasked with exposing the city's bloodshed and idolatry (Ezekiel 22:2-4).
The words — שֹפֶכֶת (sho.Fe.khet) means "shedding" or "one who sheds," paired with דָּם (dam), literally "blood," to describe the city's active violence. אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה ('a.do.Nai Yah.weh) translates to "Lord Yahweh," establishing divine authority over the verdict.
The thread — The combination of bloodshed and idolatry appears in Ezekiel 22:27, where officials are compared to wolves tearing prey, and in 2 Kings 21:2, which records the nation's adoption of foreign abominations. Jeremiah 2:1 introduces a parallel covenant lawsuit structure where God confronts Israel's corruption.
Why it lands — The text states that violence and idolatry directly cause national ruin, leaving no room for alternative explanations. It requires the reader to accept that covenant violation produces inevitable consequences without mitigation.
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
Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord God, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 22:27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
- 2 Kings 21:2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
- Jeremiah 2:1 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
- Ezekiel 7:2 “O son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says to the land of Israel: ‘The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.
- Ezekiel 12:25 because I, the LORD, will speak whatever word I speak, and it will be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass, declares the Lord GOD.’”
- Ezekiel 22:4 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.
- Ezekiel 22:6 See how every prince of Israel within you has used his power to shed blood.
- Ezekiel 23:37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fire as food for their idols.
- Ezekiel 23:45 But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of those who commit adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses with blood on their hands.
- 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.