8 1 An appearance of the similitude of God. 3 Ezekiel is brought to Jerusalem in the spirit. 6 The Lord showeth the Prophet the idolatries of the house of Israel.
1 And in the [a]sixth year, in the [b]sixth month, and in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the Elders of Judah sat before me, the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me.
2 Then I beheld, and lo, there was a likeness, as the appearance of [c]fire, to look to, from his loins downward, and from his loins upward, as the appearance of brightness, and like unto amber.
3 And he stretched out the likeness of an hand, and took me by an hairy lock of mine head, and the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me [d]by a Divine [e]vision to Jerusalem, into the entry of the inner [f]gate that lieth toward the North, where remained the idol of [g]indignation, which provoked indignation.
4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there according to the vision, that I saw [h]in the field.
5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now toward the North. So I lifted up mine eyes toward the North, and behold, Northward, at the gate of the [i]altar, this idol of indignation was in the entry.
6 He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou not what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel commiteth here to cause me to depart from [j]my Sanctuary? but yet turn thee and thou shalt see greater abominations.
7 And he caused me to enter at the gate of the court: and when I looked, behold, an hole was in the wall.
8 Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall. And when I had dug in the wall, behold, there was a door.
9 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, there was every similitude of creeping things, and [k]abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel painted upon the wall round about.
11 And there stood before them seventy [l]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 censor in his hand, and the vapor of the incense went up like [m]a cloud.
12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the Ancients of the house of Israel [n]do in the dark, everyone in the chamber of his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth.
13 Again he said also unto me, Turn thee again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.
14 And he caused me to enter into the entry of the gate of the Lord’s house, which was toward the North: and behold, there sat women mourning for [o]Tammuz.
15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Turn thee again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.
16 And he caused me to enter 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 small thing to the house of Judah to commit these abominations which they do here? for they have filled the land with cruelty, and have returned to provoke me: and lo, they have cast out [p]stink before their noses.
18 Therefore will I also execute my wrath: mine eye shall not spare them, neither will I have pity, and (A)though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 8:1 Of the captivity of Jeconiah.
- Ezekiel 8:1 Which contained part of August, and part of September.
- Ezekiel 8:2 As Ezek. 1:27.
- Ezekiel 8:3 Hebrew, in the visions of God.
- Ezekiel 8:3 Meaning, that he was thus carried in spirit, and not in body.
- Ezekiel 8:3 Which was the porch or the court where the people assembled.
- Ezekiel 8:3 So called, because it provoked God’s indignation, which was the idol of Baal.
- Ezekiel 8:4 Read Ezek. 3:22.
- Ezekiel 8:5 That is, in the court where the people had made an altar to Baal.
- Ezekiel 8:6 For God will not be where idols are.
- Ezekiel 8:10 Which were forbidden in the Law, Lev. 11:4.
- Ezekiel 8:11 Thus they that should have kept all the rest in the fear, and true service of God, were the ringleaders of all abomination, and by their example pulled others from God.
- Ezekiel 8:11 It was in such abundance.
- Ezekiel 8:12 For besides their common idolatry they had particular service, which they had in secret chambers.
- Ezekiel 8:14 The Jews write, that this was a Prophet of the idols, who after his death was once a year mourned for in the night.
- Ezekiel 8:17 Declaring that the censings and service of the idolaters, are but infection and villainy before God.