3"You are to say, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "The city keeps on shedding blood within her, hastening her time to be judged. She crafts idols that defile her.
4"'"You're guilty because of the blood that you've shed. You were defiled by the idols that you've made. You've caused your judgment day to draw near and have even come to the end of your life. Therefore, I've made you an object of derision among the nations and to other lands.
7They've treated mothers and fathers among you with contempt. They've oppressed the foreigner among you. They've maltreated the orphan and the widow among you.
9Slanderous men live among you, intent on shedding blood. They've eaten at the top of mountain shrines. They've crafted plans to do evil things among you.
11One of you commits detestable practices with his neighbor's wife. Another sexually defiles his daughter-in-law. Another humiliates his sister, his own father's daughter.
12They take bribes among you to shed blood. You've taken usury and exacted interest. You've gained control over your neighbor through extortion. And you've forgotten me," declares the Lord GOD.
18"Son of Man, Israel has become like dross to me. All of them are like remnants of bronze, tin, iron, and lead in a furnace—the dross left over from smelting silver.
19Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says, 'Because all of you have become dross, watch out! I'm going to gather all of you at the center of Jerusalem,
20just like a smelter gathers all the silver, bronze, lead, and tin to the center of a furnace and injects fire in order to melt it, I'm going to gather you in my anger and rage, make you settle down—and then I'm going to melt you down.
22like melting silver at the center of a furnace. When you've been melted from the center out, then you'll know that I am the LORD. I'll pour out my anger on you.'"
25There's a conspiracy of prophets within her, and like a roaring lion tearing its prey, they've devoured people, and confiscated treasures, and taken precious things. They've added to the population of widows within her.
26Her priests have violated my Law and profaned my sacred things. They didn't differentiate between what's sacred and what's common. They didn't instruct others to discern clean from unclean things. They refused to keep my Sabbaths. "'I'm constantly being profaned among them.
28"'Her prophets whitewashed all of these things through false visions and lying divinations. They kept on saying, "This is what the Lord GOD says…", when the LORD has not spoken.
29The people of the land were vigorously oppressive and took possession of plunder by violence. They've afflicted the poor and the needy and unjustly treated the foreigner.
30I sought for a man among them to build the wall and stand in the breach in my presence on behalf of the land so that it won't be destroyed, but I found no one,
31so I poured my indignation over them. With my fierce anger, I've consumed them. I brought the consequences of their behavior upon them,' declares the Lord GOD."
