Ezekiel 22 12

Ezekiel 22:12 kjv

In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 22:12 nkjv

In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me," says the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 22:12 niv

In you are people who accept bribes to shed blood; you take interest and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors. And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD.

Ezekiel 22:12 esv

In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 22:12 nlt

There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign LORD.

Ezekiel 22 verses

Ezekiel 22 12 Meaning

Ezekiel 22:12 highlights the profound moral and spiritual decay within Jerusalem, depicting a society deeply corrupted by unjust practices. It enumerates several grave sins: the acceptance of bribes leading to the unjust taking of life, the practice of usury (charging excessive interest on loans) and financial gain through illegitimate means, and the oppression and extortion of one's neighbors. Underlying all these egregious social injustices is the ultimate spiritual offense: the city, and by extension its inhabitants, had forgotten God Himself and His covenant demands. This forgetfulness signifies not merely an intellectual lapse, but a deliberate disregard for His character, His law, and His just ways. The verse underscores that social breakdown and economic exploitation are direct consequences of abandoning faith in and loyalty to the Lord.

Ezekiel 22 12 Context

Ezekiel 22:12 is a key component of a comprehensive indictment leveled by the Lord God against the city of Jerusalem. The chapter opens with YHWH declaring Jerusalem a "bloody city" (Ezek 22:2), a metaphorical title emphasizing the widespread innocent blood shed within its walls due to injustice and violence. The verse stands within a detailed list of abominations (Ezek 22:6-12) perpetrated by various segments of Jerusalem society, from princes and priests to the common people and even the foreigners residing there. The sins enumerated are not just individual transgressions but systemic failures that have corrupted the entire social and spiritual fabric. This list highlights Jerusalem's absolute failure to live according to God's covenant, revealing it as a place of perversion, oppression, and gross injustice, utterly unlike what YHWH intended for His holy city.

Historically, Ezekiel's prophecies occurred during the final years of the Kingdom of Judah, primarily in the exilic period after the first Babylonian deportation (597 BC) and leading up to Jerusalem's final fall in 586 BC. This was a time of significant moral and spiritual decline. The people and their leaders had persistently disregarded the Mosaic Law and the warnings of prophets, turning instead to idolatry and social exploitation. Despite the outward appearance of religious rituals, internal corruption, particularly concerning justice and economic fairness, was rampant. The economic practices condemned—bribery, usury, and extortion—were explicit violations of covenant laws designed to protect the vulnerable and ensure a righteous society. These transgressions demonstrated a fundamental disconnect from YHWH's character and His ethical standards, thereby making the city ripe for divine judgment, manifested through the impending destruction by Babylon. The verse directly contrasts God's righteous character and His benevolent laws with the exploitative practices of His people, illustrating the profound depth of their apostasy.

Ezekiel 22 12 Word analysis

• בָּךְ (bākh): "In you." This dative suffix emphatically points to Jerusalem, holding the city (representing its inhabitants and leaders) directly responsible for the sins committed within its confines. It’s a direct address of accusation.
• לָקְחוּ (lāqḥû): "they take/have taken." This verb in the Qal perfect indicates a completed action, emphasizing the widespread and continuous nature of this practice by a plurality of people within the city. It signifies an active acceptance of something.
• שֹׁחַד (shōḥaḏ): "bribe." This term denotes a gift or payment offered to influence a decision, particularly in legal or judicial contexts, thereby perverting justice. Its presence implies widespread corruption in the city's legal system.
• לִשְׁפֹּךְ דָּם (lishpōkh dām): "to shed blood." This is the purpose clause for accepting bribes. It refers specifically to shedding innocent blood, meaning to unjustly cause death, often through corrupt legal verdicts or deliberate violence, where bribes are given to achieve murderous ends or ensure conviction of the innocent.
• נֶשֶׁךְ (neshekh): "interest" / "usury." Etymologically related to "bite" or "gnaw," reflecting the oppressive and painful nature of charging interest, particularly to fellow Israelites in distress, thereby devouring their substance. It represents profit exacted on loans, prohibited by Mosaic Law among God's people (Exod 22:25, Lev 25:36-37).
• וְתַרְבִּית (wəṯarbîṯ): "and increase" / "excessive gain." This term is a synonym for profit on a loan, used alongside neshekh. It denotes an increase from money or produce given out, reiterating the forbidden practice of exploiting others financially. It highlights not just "interest" but "excessive gain."
• וַתְּבַצְּעִי (wattəbaṣṣə‘î): "and you make unjust gain" / "cut off" / "exploit." This verb (from bāṣa‘) means to cut off, gain dishonestly, or be covetous. It signifies illicit, rapacious acquisition, often through violent or unethical means. It's distinct from lawful gain.
• קִנְיָנֵךְ (qinyānēkh): "your gain" / "property" / "possessions." This refers to what is acquired or possessed. In this context, it emphasizes that the gain being acquired is ill-gotten and achieved through corrupt means.
• מֵרֵעֵךְ (mēre‘ēkh): "from your neighbor." This phrase restricts the scope of the exploitation to fellow members of the Israelite community, underscoring a betrayal of communal solidarity and covenantal brotherhood. It highlights the failure to love one's neighbor as oneself.
• בַּעֹשֶׁק (ba‘ōsheq): "by extortion" / "oppression." This noun denotes oppression, fraud, or the taking of what belongs to another through coercion or dishonesty. It encompasses a broader range of unjust seizure of property or goods beyond simple theft.
• וְאוֹתִי (wə’ōṯî): "and Me." This direct and emphatic accusative particle preceding the divine pronoun highlights God as the ultimate forgotten party. It places emphasis on YHWH being the specific object of their spiritual neglect.
• שָׁכַחַתְּ (shākhāḥat): "you have forgotten." This verb (Qal perfect) denotes not merely a casual oversight but a deliberate neglect or active abandonment of what should have been remembered. It implies a conscious turning away from covenantal obligations, the moral law, and God Himself, demonstrating a spiritual amnesia rooted in disobedience.
• נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהֹוִה (nə’um ’ăḏōnāy YHWH): "declares the Lord GOD." This formulaic prophetic utterance stresses the divine origin, authority, and certainty of the pronouncement. It leaves no doubt that these are YHWH's direct accusations and foreshadows inevitable judgment.

Words-group analysis

• In you they take bribes to shed blood: This phrase vividly paints a picture of corruption within the judicial or social system where life itself becomes negotiable currency. Bribery is not just for economic gain but for achieving fatal ends or unjustly condemning the innocent, indicating a profound disregard for human life and justice, the foundations of a stable society.
• you take interest and increase: This targets the pervasive economic exploitation, specifically usury. The combined terms "interest" (neshekh, a bite) and "increase" (tarbit, oppressive gain) condemn practices that prey on the needy, contradicting God's command for compassion and economic justice among His people, where loans were meant to be acts of mercy, not profit.
• you make unjust gain from your neighbors by extortion: This further broadens the scope of economic injustice to include all forms of fraudulent, covetous, and coercive acquisition of wealth from fellow Israelites. "Extortion" (‘ōsheq) indicates an aggressive, powerful oppression against the weaker members of society, showing a complete lack of solidarity and ethical conduct within the community.
• and you have forgotten Me, declares the Lord GOD: This is the climactic and foundational sin, explaining why all the other evils are rampant. The "forgetting" of God is not amnesia, but a deliberate abandonment of covenant loyalty and the moral principles rooted in His character. This spiritual apostasy directly manifests in the social and economic injustices, highlighting that societal breakdown stems from a departure from divine truth and relationship.

Ezekiel 22 12 Bonus section

The sins outlined in Ezekiel 22:12 demonstrate the inherent interconnectedness between spiritual health and social justice within the biblical worldview. The 'forgetting' of YHWH is presented as the root cause of the widespread social evils. When God's covenant people neglected Him, they simultaneously abandoned the divine standards for interpersonal ethics and economic conduct. This reveals that justice (mišpāṭ) and righteousness (ṣedeq) were not merely external rules but were intrinsically linked to a right relationship with God. The perversion of justice through bribery, the oppression of the poor through usury, and the exploitation of neighbors through extortion all signify a failure to reflect God's own character of lovingkindness and justice. These specific economic sins are condemned consistently throughout the Torah and Prophets, underlining their severe impact on society and their direct offense to God. The repetition of such indictments across the prophetic literature, like in Amos and Isaiah, confirms that these were deeply ingrained problems in ancient Israel, ultimately contributing to their downfall.

Ezekiel 22 12 Commentary

Ezekiel 22:12 encapsulates the moral rot that had deeply penetrated Jerusalem. The verse reveals that the city's corrupt practices—bribery leading to murder, usury, and extortion—were not isolated incidents but pervasive, systemic sins. These economic and social injustices directly violated fundamental Mosaic laws, which aimed to establish a righteous and compassionate society centered on YHWH. The exploitation of the vulnerable for selfish gain demonstrated a profound disregard for human dignity and community well-being. At its core, these egregious actions stemmed from the most damning charge: Jerusalem had "forgotten" the Lord GOD. This forgetting was not a lapse in memory but an active rejection of God's commands, His character of justice and mercy, and His covenant relationship. The societal breakdown was a direct consequence of this spiritual amnesia, illustrating that when people abandon their God, moral anarchy and oppression inevitably ensue. This verse serves as a powerful reminder that genuine worship of God necessarily includes righteous conduct toward one's neighbor and adherence to ethical economic practices.