Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there.

And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.” 10 So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls(A) all kinds of crawling things and unclean(B) animals and all the idols of Israel.(C) 11 In front of them stood seventy elders(D) of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer(E) in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense(F) was rising.(G)

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

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Idol Worship in the Temple

Then the Spirit[a] brought me to the entrance of the court. As I watched, all of a sudden, there was a[b] hole in the wall! Then he told me, “Son of Man, dig through the wall!” So I dug into the wall. That’s when I uncovered an entrance!

Then he told me, “Go on through that entrance, so you may see the wicked, detestable things that they’re committing here.”

10 So I entered, looked around, and there was every form of crawling thing, loathsome animals, and all kinds of idols from the house of Israel carved all around the wall. 11 I saw 70 men from the elders of the house of Israel standing among them, including Shaphan’s son Jaazaniah. Each man held a censer in his hand. As the scent of the cloud of incense ascended, 12 the Spirit[c] asked me, “Do you see, Son of Man, what the elders of Israel’s house are doing in secret, each in the chamber of his own carved idol? They keep saying, ‘God doesn’t see us. The Lord has abandoned the land.’”

13 Then the Spirit[d] told me, “You’re about to see even more detestable practices that they’re doing!”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 8:7 Lit. Then he
  2. Ezekiel 8:7 Lit. one
  3. Ezekiel 8:12 Lit. he
  4. Ezekiel 8:13 Lit. Then he