Ezekiel 8
Expanded Bible
Ezekiel’s Vision of Jerusalem
8 It was the sixth year [C since king Jehoiachin’s exile (1:2)], on the fifth day of the sixth month [C September 17, 592 bc; this vision is the subject of chapters 8–11]. I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah in front of me. There ·I felt the power of the Lord God [L the hand of the Lord God came upon me]. 2 I looked and saw something that looked like a ·human [man]. From the waist down it looked like fire, and from the waist up it looked like bright glowing ·metal [or amber]. 3 ·It [or He] stretched out the shape of a hand and caught me by the hair on my head. ·The Spirit [or A spirit; or The wind] lifted me up between the earth and ·the sky [heaven]. He took me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the Temple. In the courtyard was the ·idol that caused God to be jealous [L image of jealousy; 2 Kin. 21:7; 2 Chr. 33:7, 15]. 4 I saw the glory of the God of Israel [C his manifest presence] there, as I had seen ·on the plain [in the valley].
5 Then he said to me, “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], now look toward the north.” So I looked up toward the north, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar was the ·idol that caused God to be jealous [image of jealousy].
6 He said to me, “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], do you see what they are doing? Do you see how many ·hateful [detestable; abominable] things the ·people [L house] of Israel are doing here that drive me far away from my ·Temple [sanctuary]? But you will see things more ·hateful [detestable; abominable] than these.”
7 Then he brought me to the entry of the courtyard. When I looked, I saw a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, “·Human [T Son of man], dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall and saw an ·entrance [doorway].
9 Then he said to me, “Go in and see the ·hateful [detestable; abominable], ·evil [wicked] things they are doing here.” 10 So I entered and looked, and ·I saw [L look; T behold] every kind of crawling thing [Lev. 11:20] and hateful beast [C unclean animal, ritually] and all the idols of the ·people [L house] of Israel, ·carved [engraved] on the wall all around [C such images were idolatrous; Deut. 4:16–18; Rom. 1:23]. 11 Standing in front of these carvings and idols were seventy of the elders of [L the house of] Israel and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan. Each man had his ·pan for burning incense [censer] in his hand, and a ·sweet-smelling [fragrant] cloud of incense was rising.
12 Then he said to me, “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], have you seen what the elders of [L the house of] Israel are doing in the dark? Have you seen each man in the ·room [chamber; shrine] of his own ·idol [carved image]? They say, ‘The Lord doesn’t see us. The Lord has ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the land.’” 13 He also said to me, “You will see even more ·hateful [detestable; abominable] things that they are doing.”
14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, where I saw women sitting and crying for Tammuz [C a Babylonian god of fertility and rain, whose annual death marked the change of seasons]. 15 He said to me, “Do you see, ·human [T son of man; 2:1]? You will see things even more ·hateful [detestable; abominable] than these.”
16 Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the ·Temple [L house of the Lord]. There I saw about twenty-five men at the entrance to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, between the ·porch [portico] and the altar. With their backs turned to the Temple of the Lord, they faced east and were worshiping the sun in the east.
17 He said to me, “Do you see, ·human [T son of man; 2:1]? Is it ·unimportant [a trivial thing] that the ·people [L house] of Judah are doing the ·hateful [detestable; abominable] things they have done here? They have filled the land with violence and ·made me continually angry [provoked me to still greater anger]. ·Look [T Behold], they are ·insulting me every way they can [L putting the branch to their nose; C perhaps part of the worship of the sun god]. 18 So I will act ·in anger [with wrath]. I will have no pity, nor will I ·show mercy [spare them]. Even if they shout in my ears, I won’t listen to them.”
Ezekiel 8
Amplified Bible
Vision of Repulsive Acts in Jerusalem
8 It came about in the [a]sixth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin], on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I sat in my house [near Babylon] with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord [b]God fell on me there. 2 Then I looked, and behold, a likeness [of a man] with the appearance of fire; from His [c]loins downward He was like fire, and from His loins upward He had the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal (bronze). 3 He stretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of hair on my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner courtyard, where the seat of the idol (image) of [d]jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located.(A) 4 And behold, the glory and brilliance of the God of Israel [who had loved and chosen them] was there, like the vision which I saw in the plain.(B)
5 Then He said to me, “Son of man, now raise your eyes toward the north.” So I looked toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this idol (image) of jealousy at the entrance. 6 Furthermore, He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great repulsive acts which the house of Israel is committing here, to drive Me far away from My sanctuary? But you will again see greater repulsive acts.”
7 Then He brought me to the entrance of the courtyard; and when I looked, behold, [there was] a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” And when I had dug into the wall, behold, there was an entrance. 9 And He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked, repulsive acts that they are committing here.” 10 So I entered and looked, and saw every kind of creeping things and beasts and loathsome things, and all the idols of the house of Israel, carved all around on the wall. 11 Standing before these [images] were seventy elders of the house of Israel, and among them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan [the scribe], each man with his censer in his hand and a thick and fragrant cloud of incense was rising [as they prayed to these gods]. 12 Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, each man in his [secret] room of carved images? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has abandoned the land.’” 13 He also said to me, “Yet again you will see even greater repulsive acts which they are committing.”
14 Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for [e]Tammuz. 15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater repulsive acts than these [that they are committing].”
16 So He brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the porch (vestibule, portico) and the [bronze] altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing down toward the east and worshiping the sun. 17 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it too slight a thing for the house of Judah to commit the repulsive acts which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and repeatedly provoked Me to anger? And behold, they are putting the [f]branch to their nose. 18 Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare [them]; and though they cry loudly in My ears, yet I will not listen to them.”(C)
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 8:1 September 592 b.c.
- Ezekiel 8:1 Heb YHWH.
- Ezekiel 8:2 The midsection of the body from the lower ribs to the hips.
- Ezekiel 8:3 God does not tolerate the transfer of the honor and worship that is due Him to any other being or object.
- Ezekiel 8:14 A Babylonian god whose supposed death each summer caused the vegetation to wilt and die. In the spring he returned from the underworld bringing rain and new growth. His worship also involved fertility rituals.
- Ezekiel 8:17 The pagan object of worship is uncertain, but the act was contemptuous to God.
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