Ezekiel 8:12-18

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 8:12-18 Meaning and Commentary

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.