The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Ezekiel 08
1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, in
the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my
house, and the elders of Judah sat before
me, the Lord Yahweh’s hand fell on me
there.
2 Then I saw, and behold, a likeness as
the appearance of fire—from the appearance
of his waist and downward, fire, and
from his waist and upward, as the appearance
of brightness, as it were glowing metal.
3 He stretched out the form of a hand,
and took me by a lock of my head; and the
Spirit lifted me up between earth and the
sky, and brought me in the visions of God
to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the
inner court that looks toward the north,
where there was the seat of the image of
jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.
4 Behold, the glory of the God of Israel
was there, according to the appearance
that I saw in the plain.
5 Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up
your eyes now the way toward the north.”
So Ilifted up my eyes the way toward the
north, and saw, northward of the gate of
the altar this image ofjealousy in the entry.
6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see
what they do? Even the great abominations
that the house of Israel commit here,
that I should go far off from my sanctuary?
But you will again see yet other great
abominations.”
7 He brought me to the door of the court;
and when I looked, behold, a hole in the
wall.
8 Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig
now in the wall.” When I had dug in the
wall, I saw a door.
9 He said to me, “Go in, and see the
wicked abominations that they do here.”
10 So I went in and looked, and saw every
form of creeping things, abominable animals,
and all the idols of the house ofIsrael,
portrayed around on the wall.
11 Seventy men of the elders of the house
of Israel stood before them. In the middle of
them Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan
stood, every man with his censer in his
hand; and the smell of the 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 his
rooms of imagery? For they say, ‘Yahweh
doesn’t see us. Yahweh has forsaken the
land.
13 He said also to me, “You will again
see more of the great abominations which
they do.”
14 Then he brought me to the door of the
gate of Yahweh’s house which was toward
the north; and I saw the women sit there
weeping for Tammuz.
15 Then he said to me, “Have you seen
this, son of man? You will again see yet
greater abominations than these.”
16 He brought me into the inner court
of Yahweh’s house; and I saw at the door
of Yahweh’s temple, between the porch
and the altar, there were about twenty-five
men with their backs toward Yahweh’s
temple and their faces toward the east.
They were worshiping the sun toward the
east.
17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen
this, 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 turned again to provoke me to
anger. Behold, they put the branch to their
nose.
18 Therefore I will also deal in wrath. My
eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity.
Though they cry in my ears with a loud
voice, yet I will not hear them.”