Ezekiel 8

In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, and the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there. I looked, and there was a likeness with the appearance of fire. From what appeared to be his waist downward was fire, and from his waist upward was the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal. He stretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of hair on my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me to Jerusalem in visions of God, to the entrance of the inner gate facing north, where the image of jealousy that provokes jealousy had its place. There was the glory of the God of Israel, like the vision I had seen in the valley. He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy at the entrance. He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the great abominations the house of Israel is committing here, driving me far from my sanctuary? Again you will see great abominations.” He brought me to the entrance of the courtyard. I looked, and there was a hole in the wall. He said to me, “Son of man, dig now through the wall.” I dug through the wall, and there was a doorway. He said to me, “Go in and see the evil abominations they are committing here.” I went in and looked. All kinds of images of creeping things and detestable animals, and all the idols of the house of Israel, were depicted all around the wall. Seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel stood before them, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense was rising. He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his rooms with images? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’” He said to me, “Again you will see great abominations that they are committing.” He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the LORD’s house, and there were women sitting there, weeping for Tammuz. He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Again you will see abominations greater than these.” He brought me into the inner courtyard of the LORD’s house. There at the entrance of the LORD’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the LORD’s temple and their faces toward the east. They were bowing down toward the east to the sun. He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a small thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they have committed here? They have filled the land with violence and have again provoked me to anger. Look, they are putting the branch to their noses! So I too will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. Though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not listen to them.”

Rights and attribution