Ezekiel 22:12
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.
Study Note
Study Note
Ezekiel 22's 'indictment of Jerusalem as a bloody city' catalogs the social-economic crimes of the city alongside its idolatry, employing language drawn from Leviticus 25's jubilee legislation to describe violations of community economic ethics. The triad 'gifts to shed blood, usury, and extortion' precisely targets practices that Deuteronomy and the Holiness Code explicitly prohibit, identifying Jerusalem's guilt as Torah violation at the structural level of the city's economy. The climactic accusation 'thou hast forgotten me' (shekachteni) frames the entire economic catalog as a theological failure — social exploitation is the expression and symptom of covenant amnesia. Amos 8:4–6 offers a parallel prophetic economic critique, suggesting a sustained prophetic tradition connecting monotheistic fidelity and economic justice.
Other Translations
In thee have they taken bribes to shed blood; thou hast taken interest and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by oppression, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord Jehovah.
A bribe they have taken in thee to shed blood, Usury and increase thou hast taken, And cuttest off thy neighbour by oppression, And Me thou hast forgotten, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!
In you they have taken rewards as the price of blood; you have taken interest and great profits, and you have taken away your neighbours' goods by force, and have not kept me in mind, says the Lord.
Cross References
If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him …
If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun …
Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify …
And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with …
And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though …
Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the …
Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that …
Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.