Ezekiel 22:2
in Ezekiel 22“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
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou, son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou 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.
⋯
This verse in Ezekiel 22
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWilt thou judge the bloody city - Pronounce the sentence of death against the murderers. Show her all her abominations - And a most revolting and dreadful catalogue of these is in consequence exhibited.
This site's exposition
the word of the Lord came unto me, saying
on Ezekiel 22:1-2
The Lord renews the prophet's commission, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city. Henry reads the doubled verb as a call to a formal indictment, the prophet standing as a magistrate. Gill notes the title bloody city ties this chapter to the watchman's charge of chapter 3.
This site's exposition
the city of bloodshed
Barnes finds in the abominations that follow the sins of the Canaanites, whom Israel was to drive out of the land, compare Leviticus 18. Like sins would bring like judgment on the city. Clarke reads the judging as a sentence of death on those who shed blood.
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
), that God may be justified in all the desolations brought upon her. Let us take a view of all the particular sins which Jerusalem here stands charged with; and they are all exceedingly sinful. Murder: The city sheds blood, not only in the suburbs, where the strangers dwell, but in the midst of it, where, one would think, the magistrates would, if any where, be vigilant.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city?....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
See Eze 20:4; that is, "Wilt thou not judge?" &c. (compare Eze 23:36). the bloody city--literally, "the city of bloods"; so called on account of murders perpetrated in her, and sacrifices of children to Molech (Eze 22:3, 4, 6, 9;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And the word of nevuah from before Hashem was with me, saying:
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַתָּ֣ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֔ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| הֲתִשְׁפֹּ֥ט | hatishpot | ¿ will you judge | H8199 → | 202 times |
| הֲתִשְׁפֹּ֖ט | hatishpot | ¿ will you judge | H8199 → | 202 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עִ֣יר | ʾir | [the] city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַדָּמִ֑ים | hadamim | <the> blood<s> | H1818 → | 360 times |
| וְה֣וֹדַעְתָּ֔הּ | vehoda'tah | and you will make known to it | H3045 → | 945 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| תּוֹעֲבוֹתֶֽיהָ׃ | toavoteiha | abominations its | H8441 → | 117 times |
וְאַתָּ֣הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
בֶן־O son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֔םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
הֲתִשְׁפֹּ֥ט¿ will you judge
hatishpotH8199 →202 times
הֲתִשְׁפֹּ֖ט¿ will you judge
hatishpotH8199 →202 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עִ֣יר[the] city of
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
הַדָּמִ֑ים<the> blood<s>
hadamimH1818 →360 times
וְה֣וֹדַעְתָּ֔הּand you will make known to it
vehoda'tahH3045 →945 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
תּוֹעֲבוֹתֶֽיהָ׃abominations its
toavoteihaH8441 →117 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 58:1“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.
it leads to
- Titus 2:15
Speak these things as you encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.
- Hosea 8:1
Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
- Acts 20:26–27
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
- Ezekiel 3:17–21
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.
- Acts 7:51–52
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
- Titus 2:15
Through
Ezekiel 24:6Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot now rusted, whose rust will not come off! Empty it piece by piece; cast no lots for…
it leads to
- Nahum 3:1
Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey.
- Nahum 3:1
Through
2 Kings 21:16Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the…
it leads to
- Numbers 35:33
Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the…
- Numbers 35:33
Through
Ezekiel 20:4Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Confront them with the abominations of their fathers
it leads to
- Ezekiel 23:36
Then the LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.
- Ezekiel 23:36
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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.