Judgment on the Bloody City for Her Abominations – The chapter is a series of three oracles addressed to three audiences, although, in reality, they are identical: the bloody city, the house of Israel, and the unclean land. Each has di erent approaches or metaphors: (1) a general indictment of Jerusalem for moral and ceremonial violations; (2) the use of metallurgical imagery to describe “the house of Israel” as all dross that must be purged in the re of judgment; and (3) the o enses of all classes of Israelite society. 22:1-2 The Bloody City – The epithet “bloody city” is, literally, a “city of bloodshed.” The primary reference is to judicial murder, an abuse of administrative power. “Bloodguilt” includes taking a person’s physical life, social oppression, and ritual misbehavior (Let 17:3-4). Ezekiel borrows the epithet from Nahum (3:1), who had applied it to the Assyrians, notorious for their brutal treatment of captives. This citation and those of Zephaniah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah show the growing OT canon. vv. 3-5 – Where a proper fear before the One, who is holy, is lost and men impiously prepare their unclean idolatry, reverence for life, and the life of one’s neighbor disappears. Shedding blood and manufacturing idols are twin atrocities, both bring de lement and judgment. The city’s name will become infamous and ridiculed as they have lost their chart and compass (Amos 3:9). vv. 6-8 – Even the pagan elite of antiquity knew it was their duty to care for the widow and orphan. Ezekiel is dependent on the Torah, the Covenant Code (Ex 22:21-22), the Holiness Code (Lev 19:33-34), and the Fourth Commandment (Ex 20:21; Deut 5:16). The refugee or temporary resident is also a concern whose rights are curtailed and is easily taken advantage of. Government programs and the law can only do so much. The responsibility, to a large extent, falls upon individual concern. False love and false worship go together, including despising the holy things and the holy rest/Word. vv. 9-11 – Ezekiel suggests slander and gossip are connected to bloodshed, the de lement of false accusations. Malice and hate are readily involved in malicious gossip (Mt. 5:21-26). Slander and other common, everyday sin lead to false worship and worse sin. It is a capital crime to “uncover your father’s nakedness” (Lev 18:8; 20:11), referring to cohabitation with one’s mother. To force oneself upon an unwilling woman during…