Bible Strands
Ezekiel 22:6
See how every prince of Israel within you has used his power to shed blood.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet Ezekiel pronounces this indictment to the inhabitants of Jerusalem during a prophetic declaration of the city’s corruption, positioned between verses 5 and 7 of chapter 22.
The words — הִנֵּה (hi.Neh) functions as a demonstrative command meaning "here!" or "see," while שְׁפָךְ (she.fokh-) literally means "to shed," directly modifying the princes' use of זְרֹעוֹ (z.ro./O, "his strength" or "his power").
The thread — The condemnation of leaders who abuse authority to inflict violence appears in Isaiah 1:23, where rulers are labeled rebels who ignore the vulnerable, Ezekiel 22:27, which likens officials to wolves shedding blood for dishonest gain, and Nehemiah 9:34, which records that kings and leaders repeatedly disobeyed God’s law.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to recognize that systemic harm originates from those entrusted with authority, demanding accountability for institutional violence rather than passive acceptance.
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, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 1:23 Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
- Ezekiel 22:27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
- Nehemiah 9:34 Our kings and leaders and priests and fathers did not obey Your law or listen to Your commandments and warnings that You gave them.
- Jeremiah 2:26 As the thief is ashamed when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets
- Jeremiah 5:5 I will go to the powerful and speak to them. Surely they know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.” But they too, with one accord, had broken the yoke and torn off the chains.
- Jeremiah 32:32 because of all the evil the children of Israel and of Judah have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem.
- Daniel 9:8 O LORD, we are covered with shame—our kings, our leaders, and our fathers—because we have sinned against You.
- Micah 2:1 Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
- Micah 3:1 Then I said: “Hear now, O leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice?
- Micah 3:9 Now hear this, O leaders of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and pervert all that is right,