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Abominations in the Temple

And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house with (A)the elders of Judah sitting before me, that (B)the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. (C)Then I looked, and there was a likeness, like the appearance of fire—from the appearance of His waist and downward, fire; and from His waist and upward, like the appearance of brightness, (D)like the color of amber. He (E)stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and (F)the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and (G)brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, (H)where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which (I)provokes[a] to jealousy. And behold, the (J)glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I (K)saw in the plain.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.

Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great (L)abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.” So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall”; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door.

And He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.” 10 So I went in and saw, and there—every (M)sort of (N)creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, [b]portrayed all around on the walls. 11 And there stood before them (O)seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. 12 Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, (P)‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ”

13 And He said to me, “Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.” 14 So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for [c]Tammuz.

15 Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.” 16 So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, (Q)between the porch and the altar, (R)were about twenty-five men (S)with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping (T)the sun toward the east.

17 And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have (U)filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. 18 (V)Therefore I also will act in fury. My (W)eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they (X)cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 8:3 Arouses the Lord’s jealousy
  2. Ezekiel 8:10 Or carved
  3. Ezekiel 8:14 A Sumerian fertility god similar to the Gr. god Adonis

Vision of Abominations in Jerusalem

Now it came about in the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord [a]God fell upon me there. Then I looked, and behold, something like the appearance of [b]a man; from His waist and downward there was the (A)appearance of fire, and from His waist and upward like the appearance of a glow, like (B)gleaming [c]metal. And He extended the form of a hand and took me by the hair of my head; and the (C)Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the [d]north gate of the inner courtyard, where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which (D)provokes to jealousy, was located. And behold, the (E)glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw in the plain.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, (F)raise your eyes now toward the north.” So I raised my eyes toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this (G)idol of jealousy at the entrance. And He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great (H)abominations which the house of Israel are committing here, so that I would be far from My sanctuary? But yet you will see still greater abominations!”

Then He brought me to the entrance of the courtyard, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. And He said to me, “Son of man, now (I)dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. Then He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here.” 10 So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of crawling things and animals and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. 11 And standing in front of them were (J)seventy (K)elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, each man with his (L)censer in his hand; and the fragrance of the cloud of incense was rising. 12 Then He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each man in the rooms of his carved images? For they say, ‘(M)The Lord does not see us; the Lord has (N)abandoned the land.’” 13 And He said to me, “Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing!”

14 Then He brought me to the entrance of the (O)gate of the Lords house which was toward the north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for [e]Tammuz. 15 And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these!”

16 Then He brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lords house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their (P)backs to the temple of the Lord while their faces were toward the east; and (Q)they were [f]prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun. 17 And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it a trivial thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have (R)filled the land with violence and (S)provoked Me to anger repeatedly? Yet behold, they are [g]putting the twig to their nose! 18 Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare; and (T)though they cry out in My ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen to them.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 8:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  2. Ezekiel 8:2 As in LXX; MT fire
  3. Ezekiel 8:2 Heb uncertain; Gr indicates a gold and silver alloy
  4. Ezekiel 8:3 Lit facing north
  5. Ezekiel 8:14 I.e., a Babylonian god
  6. Ezekiel 8:16 I.e., worshiping
  7. Ezekiel 8:17 Possibly an obscene gesture toward God

Vision of Repulsive Acts in Jerusalem

It came about in the [a]sixth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin], on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I sat in my house [near Babylon] with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord [b]God fell on me there. Then I looked, and behold, a likeness [of a man] with the appearance of fire; from His [c]loins downward He was like fire, and from His loins upward He had the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal (bronze). He stretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of hair on my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner courtyard, where the seat of the idol (image) of [d]jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located.(A) And behold, the glory and brilliance of the God of Israel [who had loved and chosen them] was there, like the vision which I saw in the plain.(B)

Then He said to me, “Son of man, now raise your eyes toward the north.” So I looked toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this idol (image) of jealousy at the entrance. Furthermore, He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great repulsive acts which the house of Israel is committing here, to drive Me far away from My sanctuary? But you will again see greater repulsive acts.”

Then He brought me to the entrance of the courtyard; and when I looked, behold, [there was] a hole in the wall. He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” And when I had dug into the wall, behold, there was an entrance. And He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked, repulsive acts that they are committing here.” 10 So I entered and looked, and saw every kind of creeping things and beasts and loathsome things, and all the idols of the house of Israel, carved all around on the wall. 11 Standing before these [images] were seventy elders of the house of Israel, and among them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan [the scribe], each man with his censer in his hand and a thick and fragrant cloud of incense was rising [as they prayed to these gods]. 12 Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, each man in his [secret] room of carved images? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has abandoned the land.’” 13 He also said to me, “Yet again you will see even greater repulsive acts which they are committing.”

14 Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for [e]Tammuz. 15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater repulsive acts than these [that they are committing].”

16 So He brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the porch (vestibule, portico) and the [bronze] altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing down toward the east and worshiping the sun. 17 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it too slight a thing for the house of Judah to commit the repulsive acts which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and repeatedly provoked Me to anger? And behold, they are putting the [f]branch to their nose. 18 Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare [them]; and though they cry loudly in My ears, yet I will not listen to them.”(C)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 8:1 September 592 b.c.
  2. Ezekiel 8:1 Heb YHWH.
  3. Ezekiel 8:2 The midsection of the body from the lower ribs to the hips.
  4. Ezekiel 8:3 God does not tolerate the transfer of the honor and worship that is due Him to any other being or object.
  5. Ezekiel 8:14 A Babylonian god whose supposed death each summer caused the vegetation to wilt and die. In the spring he returned from the underworld bringing rain and new growth. His worship also involved fertility rituals.
  6. Ezekiel 8:17 The pagan object of worship is uncertain, but the act was contemptuous to God.

Idolatry in the Temple

In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders(A) of Judah were sitting before(B) me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord came on me there.(C) I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man.[a] From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal.(D) He stretched out what looked like a hand(E) and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up(F) between earth and heaven and in visions(G) of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court,(H) where the idol that provokes to jealousy(I) stood. And there before me was the glory(J) of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain.(K)

Then he said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol(L) of jealousy.

And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable(M) things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary?(N) But you will see things that are even more detestable.”

Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there.

And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.” 10 So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls(O) all kinds of crawling things and unclean(P) animals and all the idols of Israel.(Q) 11 In front of them stood seventy elders(R) of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer(S) in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense(T) was rising.(U)

12 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness,(V) each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see(W) us; the Lord has forsaken the land.’” 13 Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.”

14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and I saw women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz.(X) 15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.”

16 He then brought me into the inner court(Y) of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar,(Z) were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun(AA) in the east.(AB)

17 He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things(AC) they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence(AD) and continually arouse my anger?(AE) Look at them putting the branch to their nose! 18 Therefore I will deal with them in anger;(AF) I will not look on them with pity(AG) or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen(AH) to them.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 8:2 Or saw a fiery figure

And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me.

Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.

And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.

Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.

He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.

And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.

Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.

And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.

10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.

11 And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.

12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, the Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.

13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.

14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.

16 And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.