Ezekiel 7
God: Invaders are coming
God: Say goodbye to the Promised Land
1The LORD came to me with a message to deliver. He said:2Human, this is the message the Lord God has for the people in the land of Israel: [1]
It’s over. Time is up.
Say goodbye to your land.
3You’re almost there, to the end.
You’re about to feel my anger.
I’m going to judge you for your sins.
And I’m going to make you pay.
4I’m not giving you a pass.
I’m not going to pity you.
I’m going to punish you
While you continue to sin.
That’ll teach you.
Then you’ll know I’m the LORD.
God: Disaster is coming for you
5This is from the Lord God:6One disaster after another. They’re coming.
The end comes with them.
Disaster just woke up and it’s coming for you.
7People of Israel,
You’re doomed.
It’s almost here,
Trouble in the hills,
Instead of parties and celebrations.
8I’m just about ready
To soak you in wrath.
I’m going to pour onto you
Every drop of my anger.
I’m judging what you’ve done
And punishing you for your deplorable sins.
9Don’t expect any hint of pity. Not from me.
I’m the one who will punish you
While you’re right in the middle of sinning.
That’s how you’ll know it was the LORD who did it.
10Can you see it coming?
Doom is already on its way.
Your injustice has bloomed.
Your pride is growing new buds.
11Your violence has grown increasingly evil.
No more. It’s over.
So are your days of comfort, wealth, and prestige. [2]
12The time has come. You’ll see it soon.
All businesses will be out of business.
Wrath is coming for all of you.
13Buyers won’t come to get what they bought.
Buyers and sellers are both guilty of sin.
They’re going to die because of it.
Invaders arrive, trapping Jerusalem
14They’ve blown the ram’s hornAs a call to arms.
But no one leaves the town to fight.
For I surrounded them with my anger.
15Outside the city, enemies wait to kill them.
Inside, they fall to disease and famine.
16Those who survive
Will hide in the hills and moan
Like mourning doves of the valley.
17Their hands will fall limp
And urine will run down their legs.
18They’ll wear feed sacks
And shaved heads,
Shame and horror.
19Their silver and gold are worthless to them,
Like trash thrown into the streets.
Silver and gold won’t buy you food.
And they sure won’t save you.
They’re the reason you got into trouble.
20Silver and gold jewelry.
That’s what you melted down to make disgusting idols.
So, I’m making them untouchable. [3]
God gives Israel to world’s worst humans
21I’m giving your silver and gold to invaders,The wickedest group of humans on earth.
They’ll use it in repulsive ways.
22When those invaders come
I’ll look the other way
And let them loot my treasure.
They’ll go inside my sacred Temple
To vandalize and desecrate it.
23Make yourself some chains
For Jerusalem is a lawless town,
A violent city bloodied in crime.
24I’m bringing in the worst of the worse,
Invaders to take your homes.
They’ll strip arrogant people of their pride,
And they’ll desecrate your sacred shrines. [4]
25When trouble comes to town,
You’ll want peace
But you won’t find it.
26Instead, I’ll send disaster on disaster,
And rumor on rumor.
Panicked people will look for help
In visions from the prophet,
Teachings from the priest,
And advice from the leaders.
When it’s time to be afraid
27The king will grieve,The prince will have panic attacks,
And the people will tremble with fear.
I will judge each one
And punish them as they deserve.
That will teach them.
Then they’ll know I’m the LORD.
Footnotes
All that was left of Israel was the southern Jewish Kingdom of Judah. The northern Kingdom of Israel fell in 722 BC to Assyrian invaders from what is now northern Iraq. Judah would fall within about seven years of the start of Ezekiel’s ministry in 593 BC. Babylonian invaders from what is now southern Iraq defeated the Assyrians and later leveled Jerusalem in 586 BC.
Translations vary a lot on this verse and others in this chapter. That’s because the original Hebrew text is perplexing. Scholars have to make their best guesses based on context clues and depths of ancient Hebrew grammar that would send a rabbi coming up for air. Compare a few translations. Some scholars drop the verse entirely.
The word more literally means ritually “unclean.” Jewish laws identify objects or situations that will render a person ritually unclean and unfit to worship at the Jerusalem Temple until they take a ritual bath and go through a waiting period. Observant Jews avoided nonkosher food (“unclean”) such as rabbits, pigs, and lobster. And women were ritually unclean during their monthly period. So, in a way, silver and gold became as welcome as a woman’s period. Chained and marching into exile across Syria and into Iraq, captives couldn’t keep it, couldn’t spend it, and didn’t need the extra weight.
Off and on during Israelite history, these ancient ancestors of today’s Jewish people worshipped God alongside local gods. Jews worshipped God at the Jerusalem Temple, but they worshipped other gods in hilltop shrines and in scattered temples. Kings like Josiah, devoted to God, tore down pagan shrines. But when the good kings died, along came the next king, usually a spiritual downgrade, as reported by the Bible writers.
Discussion Questions
- Sorry, there are currently no questions for this chapter.
