Ezekiel 22:6
in Ezekiel 22See how every prince of Israel within you has used his power to shed blood.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, the princes of Israel, every one according to his power, have been in thee to shed blood.
KJV
Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.
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This verse in Ezekiel 22
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Rather, "The princes . . . each according to his power, were in thee, to shed blood" (as if this was the only object of their existence). "Power," literally, "arm"; they, who ought to have been patterns of justice, made their own arm of might their only law.
This site's exposition
the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood
on Ezekiel 22:6-12
The list runs through every rank and relation the covenant law protected. Wesley reads the list as a point by point breach of the commandments. Gill notes the closing count, usury and extortion practiced on neighbours, and hast forgotten me, ties every social sin back to the same forgetting.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 22, Verses 1 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: And you, son of man, do you not judge the city of blood, and show her all her abominations? And say: Thus says the Lord God: The city that sheds blood within herself, so that her time may come, and that has made idols against herself to defile herself. In your blood that was shed, you have sinned, and you have defiled yourself with your idols that you have made.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Behold, the princes of Israel,.... Those that belonged to the royal family, or the nobles of the land, or the members of the grand sanhedrim of the nation: everyone were in thee to their power to shed blood; everyone exerted himself to the uttermost, according to his ability, to shed blood, or cause it to be shed; everyone strove, as it were, who should shed most, to exceed each other in this abominable sin.
They thirsted for it, and delighted in it, and whoever came within their power were sure to feel it; whoever lay at their mercy were sure to find none. (2.) There were those who carried tales to shed blood,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Behold, the princes - Ye are a vile and murderous people, and your princes have been of the same character. Like people, like prince.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Render it: Behold the princes of Israel, each according to his might (literally “arm”) have been in thee in order to shed blood. They looked to might not right.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּה֙ | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| נְשִׂיאֵ֣י | nesiei | [the] princes of | H5387 → | 134 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לִזְרֹע֖וֹ | lizroo | to strength his | H2220 → | 91 times |
| הָ֣יוּ | hayu | they have been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בָ֑ךְ | vakh | in you | ||
| לְמַ֖עַן | lemaan | so as | H4616 → | 272 times |
| שְׁפָךְ־ | shefokh- | to shed | H8210 → | 114 times |
| דָּֽם׃ | dam | blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
הִנֵּה֙here!
hinehH2009 →843 times
נְשִׂיאֵ֣י[the] princes of
nesieiH5387 →134 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אִ֥ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
לִזְרֹע֖וֹto strength his
lizrooH2220 →91 times
הָ֣יוּthey have been
hayuH1961 →3559 times
בָ֑ךְin you
vakh
לְמַ֖עַןso as
lemaanH4616 →272 times
שְׁפָךְ־to shed
shefokh-H8210 →114 times
דָּֽם׃blood
damH1818 →360 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 1:23Your 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.
it leads to
- Micah 7:3
Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
- Zechariah 7:10
Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’
- Exodus 23:8
Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
- Micah 7:3
Through
Ezekiel 22:27Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
it leads to
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 22:13
Now look, I strike My hands together against your unjust gain and against the blood you have shed in your midst.
- Isaiah 1:23
Through
Jeremiah 32:32because 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…
it leads to
- Daniel 9:8
O LORD, we are covered with shame—our kings, our leaders, and our fathers—because we have sinned against You.
- Isaiah 1:4–6
Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on…
- 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
- Daniel 9:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.