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 comes to pass, in the sixth year, in the sixth [month], on the fifth of the month, I am sitting in my house, and [the] elderly of Judah are sitting before me, and there a hand of Lord YHWH falls on 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.

and I look, and behold, 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 the color of electrum.

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 puts forth a form of a hand, and takes me by a lock of my head, and [the] Spirit lifts me up between the earth and the heavens, and brings me to Jerusalem in visions of God, to the opening of the inner gate that is facing the north, where the seat of the figure of jealousy [is] that is making jealous,

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, there the glory of the God of Israel [is] as the appearance that I saw in the valley.

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.

And He says to me, “Son of man, now lift up your eyes [toward] the way of the north.” And I lift up my eyes [toward] the way of the north, and behold, on the north of the gate of the altar [is] this figure of jealousy, at the entrance.

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 says to me, “Son of man, are you seeing what they are doing? The great abominations that the house of Israel is doing here, to keep far off from My sanctuary; and turn again, [and] see great abominations.”

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

And He brings me to an opening of the court, and I look, and 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.

and He says to me, “Son of man, now dig through the wall”; and I dig through the wall, and behold, an opening.

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

And He says to me, “Go in, and see the evil abominations that they are doing 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].

And I go in, and look, and behold, every form of creeping thing, and detestable beast—and all the idols of the house of Israel—carved on the wall, all around,

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 seventy men from [the] elderly of the house of Israel—and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing in their midst—are standing before them, and each [with] his censer in his hand, and [the] abundance of [the] cloud of the incense is going 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.’”

And He says to me, “Have you seen, son of man, that which elderly of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each in [the] inner chambers of his imagery, for they are saying, YHWH is not seeing us, YHWH has forsaken the land?”

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

And He says to me, “Turn again, [and] see [the] great abominations that they are doing.”

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.

And He brings me to the opening of the gate of the house of YHWH that [is] at the north, and behold, there the women are sitting, 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!”

And He says to me, “Have you seen, son of man? Turn again, [and] see 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 brings me into the inner court of the house of YHWH, and behold, at the opening of the temple of YHWH, between the porch and the altar, about twenty-five men, their backs toward the temple of YHWH, and their faces eastward, and they are bowing themselves eastward to the sun.

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]!

And He says to me, “Have you seen, son of man? Has it been a light thing to the house of Judah to do the abomination that they have done here, that they have filled the land with violence, and turn back to provoke Me to anger? And behold, they are putting forth 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.”

And I also deal in fury, My eye does not pity, nor do I spare, and they have cried [with] a loud voice in My ears and I do not hear them.”