Add parallel Print Page Options

15 He said to me: Do you see this, son of man? You will see other abominations, greater than these!

16 Then he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. There at the door 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 eastward[a] to the sun.(A) 17 He said: Do you see, son of man? Are the abominable things the house of Judah has done here so slight that they should also fill the land with violence, provoking me again and again? Now they are putting the branch to my nose![b]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 8:16 Bowing eastward: sun worship was perhaps introduced as a condition of alliance with other nations. While Josiah removed some elements of this worship (2 Kgs 23:11), Manasseh, for example, built altars to all the “hosts of heaven” in two Temple courtyards (2 Kgs 21:5).
  2. 8:17 Putting the branch to my nose: the meaning is uncertain. It may be connected with the social injustice mentioned in v. 17b and in 9:9, e.g., “with their violence they tweak my nose,” i.e., “goad my fury.” The Masoretic text reads “their noses” as a euphemism for “my nose,” thus avoiding the impropriety of these idolaters coming into contact with God even figuratively.

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(A) of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar,(B) 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(C) in the east.(D)

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(E) they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence(F) and continually arouse my anger?(G) Look at them putting the branch to their nose!

Read full chapter