Ezekiel 8:12-18

12 God asked me, "Mortal man, do you see what the Israelite leaders are doing in secret? They are all worshiping in a room full of images. Their excuse is: "The Lord doesn't see us! He has abandoned the country.' "
13 Then the Lord said to me, "You are going to see them do even more disgusting things than that."
14 So he took me to the north gate of the Temple and showed me women weeping over the death of the god Tammuz.
15 He asked, "Mortal man, do you see that? You will see even more disgusting things."
16 So he took me to the inner courtyard of the Temple. There near the entrance of the sanctuary, between the altar and the porch, were about twenty-five men. They had turned their backs to the sanctuary and were bowing low toward the east, worshiping the rising sun.
17 The Lord said to me, "Mortal man, do you see that? These people of Judah are not satisfied with merely doing all the disgusting things you have seen here and with spreading violence throughout the country. No, they must come and do them right here in the Temple and make me even more angry. Look how they insult me in the most offensive way possible!
18 They will feel all the force of my anger. I will not spare them or show them any mercy. They will shout prayers to me as loud as they can, but I will not listen to them."

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. tammuz: [A god who was thought to die when vegetation died and to come to life the next year. Women would mourn his ritual death.]
  • [b]. in the most offensive way possible: [A reference to a pagan rite of putting a branch to the nose.]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.