Add parallel Print Page Options

He brought me to the entrance of the court, and as I watched, I noticed a hole in the wall. He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and discovered a doorway.

He said to me, “Go in and see the evil abominations they are practicing here.” 10 So I went in and looked. I noticed every figure[a] of creeping thing and beast—detestable images[b]—and every idol of the house of Israel, engraved on the wall all around.[c] 11 Seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel[d] (with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them) were standing in front of them, each with a censer in his hand, and fragrant vapors[e] from a cloud of incense were swirling upward.

12 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images?[f] For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’” 13 He said to me, “You will see them practicing even greater abominations!”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 8:10 tn Or “pattern.”
  2. Ezekiel 8:10 tn Heb “detestable.” The word is often used to describe the figures of foreign gods.
  3. Ezekiel 8:10 sn These engravings were prohibited in the Mosaic law (Deut 4:16-18).
  4. Ezekiel 8:11 sn Note the contrast between these seventy men who represented Israel and the seventy elders who ate the covenant meal before God, inaugurating the covenant relationship (Exod 24:1, 9).
  5. Ezekiel 8:11 tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
  6. Ezekiel 8:12 tn Heb “the room of his images.” The adjective “idolatrous” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.sn This type of image is explicitly prohibited in the Mosaic law (Lev 26:1).

And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. Then he said to me, “Son of man, (A)dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. And he said to me, “Go in, and see (B)the vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10 So I went in and saw. And there, (C)engraved on the wall all around, was (D)every form of (E)creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. 11 And before them stood (F)seventy men of (G)the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of (H)Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and (I)the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. 12 Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing (J)in the dark, each (K)in his room of pictures? For they say, (L)‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” 13 He said also to me, (M)“You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

Read full chapter