¹² He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness,^(A) each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see^(B) us; the Lord has forsaken the land.’” ¹³ Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.”

¹⁴ Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and I saw women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz.^{(C) 15} He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.”

¹⁶ He then brought me into the inner court^(D) of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar,^(E) were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun^(F) in the east.^(G)

¹⁷ He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things^(H) they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence^(I) and continually arouse my anger?^(J) Look at them putting the branch to their nose! ¹⁸ Therefore I will deal with them in anger;^(K) I will not look on them with pity^(L) or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen^(M) to them.”