What is the context?
The Lord directs Ezekiel to confront Jerusalem with its abominations. Bloodshed and idolatry stand at the head of the charge: the city is bringing its own doom near through what it does.
The accusation becomes concrete. Princes use power to shed blood, parents are treated with contempt, and foreign residents, orphans and widows are oppressed. Holy things and Sabbaths are despised, while slander contributes to violence.
Sexual wrongdoing includes adultery and violations within the family. The reference to a father’s nakedness belongs to the language used in Leviticus 18:6–18, which includes dishonoring a father through relations with his wife.
The list ends with bribes for bloodshed, abusive lending and extortion. The Lord names what lies beneath these practices: the people have forgotten Him. The accusation joins worship, family life, public power and treatment of the vulnerable.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Henry and Wesley understand the city’s guilt through the actual wrongs listed, including murder, idolatry and oppression. Henry emphasizes forgetting God as the root of the conduct.
The USCCB notes likewise connect bloodshed, oppression of the poor and corrupt worship. These are not separate problems that can be balanced against one another; the charge concerns a life and community that dishonor the Lord in all these ways.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
James 1:26–27 connects faithful religion with control of the tongue, care for orphans and widows, and freedom from the world’s pollution. James 2:14–17 asks what good a claim to faith does when someone withholds the food and clothing a brother or sister needs.
James does not explicitly quote Ezekiel 22. He develops the larger concern that a claimed relationship with God must shape the treatment of others. The care God desires has visible consequences for people who can easily be ignored or exploited.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.