Jerusalem, the City of Blood.
‘Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge, the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.” '
Ezekiel continues in his silent vigil, speaking only when the word of Yahweh comes to him. God asks him whether he is prepared to pass act as prosecutor to a city filled with the spilling of blood. For the double rendering which intensifies the question compare Ezekiel 20:4.
‘The bloody city.' This section repeats the word blood a number of times (Ezekiel 22:2-4; Ezekiel 22:6; Ezekiel 22:9; Ezekiel 22:12-13). Its streets were stained with blood. ‘Blood' often indicates physical violence and deliberate harm, and vileness, as well as death.