Ezekiel 8

1 And it was done in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, I sat in mine house, and the eld men of Judah sat before me (I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me); and the hand of the Lord God fell there [up]on me.

2 And I saw, and lo! a likeness as the beholding of fire; from the beholding of his loins and beneath was fire, and from his loins and above was as the beholding of shining, as the sight of electrum, [that is, metal made of gold and silver, brighter than gold]. (And I saw, and lo! a form with the appearance of fire; from his loins and beneath was like the appearance of fire, and from his loins and above was like the appearance of shining, like the sight of electrum, that is, a metal made of gold and silver, but even brighter than gold.)

3 And the likeness of an hand was sent out, and took me by the hair, either locks, of mine head; and the spirit raised me [up] betwixt heaven and earth, and brought me into Jerusalem, in the sight of God, beside the inner door that beheld to the north (in the vision of God, beside the inner door that faced north), where the idol of envy was set, to stir indignation.

4 And lo! the glory of God of Israel was there, by the sight which I saw in the field. (And lo! the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision which I saw in the field.)

5 And he said to me, Thou, son of man, raise up thine eyes to the way of the north; and I raised (up) mine eyes to the way of the north, and lo! from the north of the gate of the altar, the idol of envy was in that entering (and lo! north of the gate of the altar, at the entrance, was that idol of envy).

6 And he said to me, Son of man, guessest thou whether thou seest what thing these men do, the great abominations which the house of Israel doeth here, that I go far away from my saintuary? and yet thou shalt turn, and shalt see greater abominations. (And he said to me, Son of man, seest thou what things these people do, yea, the great abominations which the house of Israel doeth here, so that I must go far away from my sanctuary? and yet thou shalt turn, and shalt see greater abominations than these!)

7 And he led me within to the door of the foreyard; and I saw, and lo! one hole in the wall. (And he led me within to the entrance of the courtyard; and I saw, and lo! a hole in the wall.)

8 And he said to me, Son of man, dig thou (in) the wall; and when I had digged (in) the wall, one door appeared.

9 And he said to me, Enter thou, and see the worst abominations, which these men do here.

10 And I entered, and saw; and lo! each likeness of reptiles, either creeping beasts, and abominations of beasts, and all [the] idols of the house of Israel, were painted in the wall all about in compass (were painted on the walls all around).

11 And seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel stood; and Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, stood in the midst of them, standing before the paintings; and each man had a censer in his hand, and the smoke of a cloud of incense went up.

12 And he said to me, Certainly, son of man, thou seest what things the elder men of the house of Israel do in darknesses, each man in the hid place of his bed; for they say, The Lord seeth not us, the Lord hath forsaken the land (for they say, The Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath abandoned the land/the Lord hath deserted the country).

13 And the Lord said to me, Yet thou shalt turn, and shalt see greater abominations, which these men do.

14 And he led me within, by the door of the gate of the house of the Lord, which door beheld to the north; and lo! women sat there, bewailing Adonis. (And he led me within, by the entrance of the gate of the House of the Lord, which entrance faced north; and lo! women sat there, bewailing Tammuz.)

15 And the Lord said to me, Certainly, son of man, thou hast seen (And the Lord said to me, Truly, son of man, hast thou seen this?/do thou see this?); yet thou shalt turn, and shalt see greater abominations than these.

16 And he led me within, into the inner foreyard of the house of the Lord; and lo! in the door of the temple of the Lord, betwixt the porch and the altar, were as five and twenty men having the(ir) backs against the temple of the Lord, and their faces to the east; and they worshipped at the rising of the sun. (And he led me within, to the inner courtyard of the House of the Lord; and lo! by the entrance to the Temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were twenty-five men with their backs against the Temple of the Lord, and their faces turned toward the east; and they worshipped the rising of the sun.)

17 And the Lord said to me, Certainly, son of man, thou hast seen (And the Lord said to me, Truly, son of man, hast thou seen this?/do thou see this?); whether this is a light thing to the house of Judah, that they should do these abominations, which they did here? For they filled the land with wickedness, and turned (again) to stir me to wrath; and lo! they apply a branch to their nostrils.

18 Therefore and I shall do in strong vengeance; mine eye shall not spare, neither I shall do mercy; and when they shall cry to mine ears with great voice, I shall not hear them. (And so I shall do strong vengeance against them; my eyes shall not spare them, nor shall I have mercy on them; and when they shall cry to my ears with a loud voice, I shall not hear them.)

Ezekiel 8 Commentary

Chapter 8

The idolatries committed by the Jewish rulers. (1-6) The superstitions to which the Jews were then devoted, the Egyptian. (7-12) The Phoenician. (13,14) The Persian. (15,16) The heinousness of their sin. (17,18)

Verses 1-6 The glorious personage Ezekiel beheld in vision, seemed to take hold upon him, and he was conveyed in spirit to Jerusalem. There, in the inner court of the temple, was prepared a place for some base idol. The whole was presented in vision to the prophet. If it should please God to give any man a clear view of his glory and majesty, and of all the abominations committing in any one city, he would then admit the justice of the severest punishments God should inflict thereon.

Verses 7-12 A secret place was, as it were, opened, where the prophet saw creatures painted on the walls, and a number of the elders of Israel worshipped before them. No superiority in worldly matters will preserve men from lust, or idolatries, when they are left to their own deceitful hearts; and those who are soon wearied in the service of God, often grudge no toil nor expense when following their superstitions. When hypocrites screen themselves behind the wall of an outward profession, there is some hole or other left in the wall, something that betrays them to those who look diligently. There is a great deal of secret wickedness in the world. They think themselves out of God's sight. But those are ripe indeed for ruin, who lay the blame of their sins upon the Lord.

Verses 13-18 The yearly lamenting for Tammuz was attended with infamous practices; and the worshippers of the sun here described, are supposed to have been priests. The Lord appeals to the prophet concerning the heinousness of the crime; "and lo, they put the branch to their nose," denoting some custom used by idolaters in honour of the idols they served. The more we examine human nature and our own hearts, the more abominations we shall discover; and the longer the believer searches himself, the more he will humble himself before God, and the more will he value the fountain open for sin, and seek to wash therein.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 8

This chapter contains a vision the prophet had of the idolatry of the Jews, which was the cause of their destruction. The time when, place, where, and persons with whom he was, when the hand of the Lord came upon him, are mentioned, Eze 8:1; then follows a description of the divine Person that appeared to him, Eze 8:2; and an account is given how he was in a visionary way brought to Jerusalem, and to the temple, where he saw the glory of the God of Israel, and the idolatry of the people, Eze 8:3,4; which latter was gradually represented to him; first the image of jealousy in the entry at the gate of the altar northward, Eze 8:5; then greater abominations through a hole in the wall, by which he saw their idols, in the form of reptiles and four footed beasts, portrayed on the wall, Eze 8:6-10; next seventy of the ancients of Israel, among whom were one mentioned by name, offering incense to these idols, Eze 8:11,12; after this, greater abominations still are showed him, at the north of the temple, women weeping for Tammuz, Eze 8:13,14; and then again far greater ones, twenty five men, between the porch and the altar, with their backs to the temple, and their face to the east, worshipping the sun, and putting the branch to the nose, Eze 8:15-17; wherefore it is reasoned to deal with them in fury, without any mercy, pity, and compassion, Eze 8:18.