Ezekiel 22:13

"Behold, therefore, I have smitten my hand, at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I, Jehovah, have spoken, and will do it. And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee through the countries; and I will consume thy filthiness out of thee. And thou shalt be profaned in thyself, in the sight of the nations; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah."

"I have smitten my hands at thy dishonest gain ..." (Ezekiel 22:13). "This figuratively describes God's indignation"[11] at the crooked dealings of Israel.

"Can thy heart endure ..." (Ezekiel 22:14)? No matter how bold and daring wicked men may pretend to be, when God's judgment falls upon them, all of their alleged courage evaporates! It will be true especially upon the final day of judgment depicted in Revelation 6:14-17.

"I will consume thy filthiness out of thee ..." (Ezekiel 22:15). This will be accomplished by the total destruction of all of the wicked sinners in Jerusalem, who are, themselves, the "filthiness" of the city.

"And thou shalt be profaned in thyself, in the sight of the nations ..." (Ezekiel 22:16). This is admittedly a difficult expression. "The meaning appears to be that `Thou shalt be inwardly conscious of thy polluted condition, and shall loathe thyself on account of thy sins.'"[12] It should be remembered here, that, "Although God allowed his people to be profaned for a time, and allowed the nations to mock them, concluding that God was powerless to save them; nevertheless, the scattering of His people was remedial in God's intention; and, in God's own time, `The holiness of God's name' would yet be vindicated (Ezekiel 36:23)."[13]