What is the meaning of Ezekiel 7:23?

Forge the chain

“Forge the chain” (Ezekiel 7:23) is the Lord’s vivid command to Ezekiel.

•Chains point to captivity—Judah will shortly be bound and marched to Babylon, just as Zedekiah was “bound with bronze shackles” (2 Kings 25:7).

•The image also underscores guilt. Criminals wear chains; the nation’s sin now deserves restraint (Jeremiah 27:2; Psalm 107:10–11).

•By ordering a chain to be made, God shows that judgment is already settled. Grace had been offered repeatedly, but persistent rebellion closed that door (2 Chronicles 36:15–16).

•The picture reminds every generation that sin never grants freedom; it forges its own bondage (John 8:34; Romans 6:16).

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for the land is full of crimes of bloodshed

The reason for the coming chains is moral rot.

•“Crimes of bloodshed” exposes systemic disregard for life—murders, unjust courts, violence against the helpless (Genesis 4:8–10; Hosea 4:2).

•Life is sacred because people bear God’s image (Genesis 9:6). Blood guilt cries out, and the righteous Judge responds.

•This line fulfills earlier warnings: “The earth was filled with violence” before the flood (Genesis 6:11), and similar corruption now invites a new but targeted judgment.

•God’s standards have not shifted; when any culture normalizes violence, His justice inevitably addresses it (Proverbs 6:16–17; Revelation 6:10).

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and the city is full of violence

The spotlight narrows from the land to Jerusalem itself.

•The city that should display God’s glory is instead packed with crime (Psalm 55:9–11; Micah 6:12).

•Courts pervert justice, merchants cheat, leaders oppress, and the vulnerable suffer (Habakkuk 1:3–4; Zephaniah 3:1–4).

•Because the covenant community mirrors the surrounding pagan nations, it will share their fate—siege, fall, and exile (Leviticus 18:24–28).

•Modern application is unmistakable: when violence saturates a society, it signals deep spiritual failure and invites divine correction (Matthew 24:12; Galatians 5:19–21).

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summary

Ezekiel 7:23 layers three escalating truths. God commands the forging of chains because Judah’s widespread bloodshed and Jerusalem’s entrenched violence demand righteous judgment. The verse announces imminent captivity, validates the consistency of God’s moral law, and warns every generation that unchecked sin leads inevitably to bondage and loss.