Ezekiel 8

1 On the fifth day of the sixth month [of that year], almost six years after we Israeli people had been (exiled/forced to go to Babylon), I was sitting in my house. The elders of Judah were sitting in front of me. Suddenly the power [MTY] of Yahweh the Lord came on me.

And it came to pass 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, that the hand of the lord Jehovah fell there upon me.

2 [in a vision] I saw someone who resembled a man. Below his waist, [his body] was like fire, and above his waist [his body] was glowing like very hot metal.

Then I beheld, and, lo, a likeness as the appearance of fire, from the appearance of his loins and downward, fire, and from his loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as it were glowing metal.

3 He reached out what seemed to be a hand and grabbed me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up high above the earth, and in visions God took me [from Babylon] to Jerusalem. He took me [to the temple], to the north gate, to the place where there was an idol that caused Yahweh to be very disgusted and furious.

And he put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head. And the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, 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 the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy.

4 And there in front of me was the brilliant light that indicated the presence of the God whom the Israeli [people previously worshiped. It was] like the vision that I had seen alongside the Kebar River/Canal.

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

5 Yahweh said to me, “You human, look toward the north!” So I looked, and I saw in the entrance of the gate near the altar that idol that caused Yahweh to be disgusted and furious.

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

6 He said to me, “You human, do you see what those Israeli people [MTY] are doing? They are doing detestable things here, things that will cause me to abandon my temple. But you will see things that are even more detestable.”

And he said to me, Son of man, see thou what they do, even the great abominations that the house of Israel commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? But thou shall again see yet other great abominations.

7 Then he brought me to the entrance of the courtyard. I looked and saw a hole in the wall.

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

8 He said to me, “You human, dig through the wall here.” So I dug through the wall, and I saw a doorway inside.

Then he said to me, Son of man, dig now in the wall. And when I had dug in the wall, behold, a door.

9 He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things that they are doing there!”

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

10 So I went in through the doorway and looked, and I saw, all over the [of a big room, drawings of] all kinds of creatures that scurry across the ground and [other] detestable animals, and drawings of all the idols that the people of [were worshiping].

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, portrayed upon the wall round about.

11 In front of them stood 70 elders of Israel. Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, was standing among them. Each of them was holding a pan in which incense was burning, and fragrant smoke of the burning incense was rising up.

And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel. And in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, each man with his censer in his hand, and the odor of the cloud of incense went up.

12 Yahweh said to me, “You human, look at [RHQ] what the Israeli elders are doing here in the darkness, each of them standing in front of the shrine of his own idol! They are saying, ‘Yahweh does not see us; Yahweh has deserted this country.’”

Then he said to me, Son of man, have thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, each man in his chambers of imagery? For they say, Jehovah does not see us. Jehovah has forsaken the land.

13 He also said, “But you will see things that are even more detestable!”

He also said to me, Thou shall again see yet other great abominations which they do.

14 Then he took me to the entrance at the north gate of the temple. I saw women sitting there, mourning for [the death of the god of the people of Babylonia], Tammuz.

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

15 He said to me, “You human, you see this [RHQ], but you will see things that are more detestable than this!”

Then he said to me, Have thou seen this, O son of man? Thou shall again see yet greater abominations than these.

16 Then he took me into the courtyard outside the temple. There at the entrance of the temple, between the porch and the altar, were about 25 men. Their backs were toward the temple and their faces were toward the east, and they were bowing down to [worship] the sun [as it rose] in the east.

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

17 He said to me, “You human, you see [RHQ] what they are doing. [Do you think that] it is not important that these men of Judah are doing these detestable things here? [But they are doing other terrible things]. They are acting violently throughout their country, and continually causing me to be angry. Look at them! They are insulting me by their actions [IDM]!

Then he said to me, Have 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 turned again to provoke me to anger. And, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

18 So I will show them that I am very angry. I will not pity them or act mercifully toward them. And even if they shout to me [to help them], I will not pay attention to them.”

Therefore I will also deal in wrath. My eye shall not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them.