Abominations in the Temple
Ezekiel 8In 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, Lord YHWH’s hand fell on me there. Then I looked, and there was a likeness as the appearance of a man. From his waist downward, was fire, and from his waist and upward, the appearance of brightness, as it were glowing metal. 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. There before me was the glory of the God of Israel, according to the vision I saw in the plain.
Then he said to me, “Son of humanity, lift up your eyes now the way toward the north.”
So I lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and saw, northward of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
He said to me, “Son of humanity, 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.”
Then ʜᴇ brought me to the door of the court. When I looked, there was a hole in the wall. Then he said to me, “Son of humanity, dig now in the wall.”
When I had dug in the wall, I saw a door.
He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here.”
So I went in and looked, and saw every form of creeping things, abominable animals, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed around on the wall. 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.
Then he said to me, “Son of humanity, 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, ‘YHWH doesn’t see us. YHWH has forsaken the land.’” He said also to me, “You will again see more of the great abominations which they do.”
Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the house of YHWH which was toward the north; and I saw the women sit there weeping for Tammuz. Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of humanity? You will again see yet greater abominations than these.”
He brought me into the inner court of the house of YHWH; and I saw at the door of the temple of YHWH, between the porch and the altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of YHWH and their faces toward the east. They were worshiping the sun toward the east.
Then he said to me, “Do you see this, son of humanity? 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. Look at them putting the branch to their nose. 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.”