Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Ezekiel 22:12 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 12. 12In 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The prophetic word through Ezekiel states or reports “In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood” at Ezekiel 22:12 as a specific part of “The Bloody City Is Charged with Interlocking Abuses.”
Wilt thou judge the bloody city?
This verse is one part of that explanation in Ezekiel 22:1–12. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Ezekiel 22:1–12
Read Ezekiel 22:12 with 22:1–12. By itself, “In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, exilic horizon, visionary movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: Jerusalem's charges include bloodshed, idolatry, contempt for parents, oppression of strangers, orphans and widows, profaned holy things, sexual violations, bribery, extortion, and forgetting God.
Why This Verse Appears Here
This received unit develops “The Bloody City Is Charged with Interlocking Abuses” through its own speaker, addressee, date, vision, oracle, sign, lament, or measured space. Its non-interchangeable contribution is: Jerusalem's charges include bloodshed, idolatry, contempt for parents, oppression of strangers, orphans and widows, profaned holy things, sexual violations, bribery, extortion, and forgetting God. This verse's placement is specific: The prophetic word through Ezekiel states or reports “In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood” at Ezekiel 22:12 as a specific part of “The Bloody City Is Charged with Interlocking Abuses.”
What Remains True
Worship, public violence, economic exploitation, leadership, and treatment of vulnerable people cannot be separated from moral accountability. In Ezekiel 22:12, that bounded truth is carried through this verse's role: The prophetic word through Ezekiel states or reports “In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood” at Ezekiel 22:12 as a specific part of “The Bloody City Is Charged with Interlocking Abuses.”
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Ezekiel 22:1–12 — The Bloody City Is Charged with Interlocking AbusesSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Ezekiel 22:1–12, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ezekiel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 22:1–12
Open the fixed Hebrew Ezekiel file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Ezekiel
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 22:1–12
Open the official NET Ezekiel PDF ↗