Ezekiel 22 19

Ezekiel 22:19 kjv

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 22:19 nkjv

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 22:19 niv

Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 22:19 esv

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 22:19 nlt

So tell them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 22 verses

Ezekiel 22 19 Meaning

Ezekiel 22:19 declares God's righteous judgment against the people of Jerusalem and Judah. Through His divine pronouncement, God states that because the entire populace has become akin to "dross" – the worthless impurities removed from precious metals during refining – He will actively gather them within the city of Jerusalem. This gathering signifies His intent to subject them to an intense, fiery trial and purification process, symbolizing the siege and destruction that awaits them at the hands of Babylon, designed either to purge the wickedness or consume the irredeemably corrupt.

Ezekiel 22 19 Context

Ezekiel 22:19 falls within a powerful prophetic indictment against Jerusalem, specifically titled "The Bloody City" (Eze 22:2). The entire chapter vividly catalogs the city's rampant moral corruption, idolatry, violence, injustice, oppression of the vulnerable, and flagrant disregard for God's law. Jerusalem's leaders, priests, prophets, and princes are all implicated in the pervasive wickedness.

Verse 19 serves as a crucial pronouncement following God's metaphoric declaration in Eze 22:18, where He identifies the people of Israel and Jerusalem as "dross" – the refuse from copper, tin, iron, and lead when silver is refined in a furnace. This imagery prepares the ground for God's decisive action. The historical context is the period just before the final destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (circa 586 BC), with Ezekiel prophesying from exile. The "gathering into the midst of Jerusalem" refers to the imminent siege of the city, which would act as God's divine furnace, trapping its inhabitants inside for the refining fire of judgment.

Ezekiel 22 19 Word analysis

• "Therefore" (לָכֵן, lakēn): A crucial logical connector, indicating a direct consequence. It emphasizes that what follows is a just and unavoidable result of the prior condition.
• "thus says" (כֹּה אָמַר, koh amar): A standard prophetic formula, asserting the divine origin and unquestionable authority of the message. It signifies that the following declaration comes directly from God Himself.
• "the Lord God" (אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה, Adonai Yehovih): Combines "Sovereign Master" (Adonai) and God's covenant name (YHWH/Yehovah), highlighting His absolute sovereignty, faithfulness, and power in enacting His judgments and purposes.
• "Because" (יַעַן, ya'an): Another causal particle, linking God's forthcoming action directly to the spiritual state of His people. It stresses the righteous basis of the judgment.
• "you have all become" (הֱיוֹתְכֶם כֻּלְּכֶם, hēyōṯəḵem kulleḵem): Emphasizes the widespread, almost universal, spiritual degeneracy. It signifies collective guilt and pervasive corruption, encompassing the entire populace.
• "dross" (לְסִגִים, l'sigim): From the Hebrew sigim. This is the central metaphor. It refers to the waste or impurity left over after precious metals (like silver) have been melted and refined. Spiritually, it signifies moral impurity, spiritual worthlessness, apostasy, and rejection of God's holy standards. It means they no longer have value as pure, useful material for God.
• "behold" (הִנֵּה, hinnēh): An interjection of urgency and emphasis, drawing attention to the divine action that is about to be revealed, marking it as significant and certain.
• "therefore" (לָכֵן, lakēn): Reiteration of consequence, reinforcing the direct causal link between their "dross" state and God's decisive response.
• "I will gather you" (אֹסִף אֶתְכֶם, 'osif 'etḵem): God’s active, deliberate, and sovereign intervention. It’s not a passive allowance but an intentional act of assembling them for the purpose of judgment/purification. This gathering signifies being enclosed for the impending furnace.
• "into the midst of Jerusalem" (אֶל תּוֹךְ יְרוּשָׁלַם, 'el tôḵ Yərūšālaim): The specific geographical location of the judgment. It highlights the irony that the holy city, meant to be a place of safety and God's dwelling, will become the very site of intense suffering and the "furnace" of God’s wrath and refining process. The siege would trap them there.

Words-group Analysis:

• "Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Because you have all become dross, behold, therefore'": This powerful opening formula establishes the divine speaker, the certainty of the pronouncement, the reason for the judgment (their complete corruption), and the definite, unavoidable consequence. It highlights God’s sovereign control and righteous justification.
• "'you have all become dross'": This phrase functions as the comprehensive indictment. It's a collective condemnation, underscoring the spiritual bankruptcy and worthlessness of the people from God's perspective due to their pervasive sin and impurity, despite their outward religious observances.
• "'I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem'": This is the divine sentence and its execution method. It signifies God’s intentional act of bringing judgment directly upon them within their presumed place of security. Jerusalem becomes both the prison and the furnace for the "dross," highlighting God's direct involvement in their impending destruction/purification.

Ezekiel 22 19 Bonus section

• The metaphor of "dross" in Ezekiel connects deeply with wisdom literature (e.g., Proverbs), which often contrasts purity and wisdom with folly and worthlessness.
• God's refining process, though painful, is a consistent theme in scripture, emphasizing His desire for His people's holiness. It often occurs in a context of discipline or purification rather than mere destruction.
• The immediate physical "gathering" refers to the siege that confined them. Yet, there's also a deeper spiritual gathering: being confronted with the inescapable consequences of their sin, where all their hypocrisy and wickedness would be exposed within the furnace of divine wrath.

Ezekiel 22 19 Commentary

Ezekiel 22:19 encapsulates the stern message of God's impending judgment upon a deeply corrupted Jerusalem. The core metaphor is that of the people becoming "dross," a worthless byproduct in metal refining. This signifies their utter spiritual degeneracy and the pervasive sin that had rendered them unfit for God's holy purposes. Rather than being precious metals, they had become the very impurities that needed to be purged.

God, as the ultimate Refiner, declares His intent to "gather" them, not for salvation or comfort, but for a terrifying purpose: into the "midst of Jerusalem." This signifies the upcoming Babylonian siege, which would trap the inhabitants within their city walls, effectively creating a massive "furnace." The severe trials and destruction would serve as God's refining fire, aimed at burning away the impurities. For some, this process might lead to a painful but necessary purification for a faithful remnant, but for the majority, who were irredeemably wicked and beyond purification, it would mean utter consumption and destruction. This verse powerfully conveys that God's justice is proportionate to the widespread unholiness, and His judgments, though severe, are deliberate and purposeful.