“Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Publicly denounce her detestable sins,
Parallel translations
- WEB “You, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.
- KJV Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.
- BSB “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
- NKJV “Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations!
- NASB “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then inform her of all her abominations.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God asks Ezekiel whether he will judge the 'bloody city' by confronting her with all her abominations. The prophet is to expose Jerusalem's sins plainly.
Overview
The Lord calls Jerusalem the 'bloody city' because of widespread violence and injustice within her. Ezekiel's task is to make her face the full reality of her abominations, since true conviction begins with honest exposure of sin. Naming sin clearly is an act of mercy meant to lead to repentance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Ezek 24:6Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the bloody city, to the cauldron whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! take out of it piece after piece; No lot is fallen on it.
- Ezek 20:4“Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers;
- Ezek 24:9Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.
- Isa 58:1“Cry aloud, don’t spare. Lift up your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their disobedience, and to the house of Jacob their sins.
- Hos 4:2There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed.
- Nah 3:1Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. The prey doesn’t depart.
- Matt 27:25All the people answered, “May his blood be on us, and on our children!”
- 1 Tim 5:20Those who sin, reprove in the sight of all, that the rest also may be in fear.
- 2 Kgs 21:16Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin with which he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight.
- Acts 7:52Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers.
- 2 Kgs 24:3–4Surely at the commandment of Yahweh this came on Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,
- Ezek 8:9–17He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here.”
- Jer 2:34Also the blood of the souls of the innocent poor is found in your skirts. You did not find them breaking in; but it is because of all these things.
- Luke 11:50that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
- Matt 23:35that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.
- Ezek 16:1–63Again Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
- Ezek 23:1–49Yahweh’s word came again to me, saying,
- Jer 2:30“I have struck your children in vain. They received no correction. Your own sword has devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 22:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.