Ezekiel 8:5

5 And He saith unto me, `Son of man, lift up, I pray thee, thine eyes the way of the north.' And I lift up mine eyes the way of the north, and lo, on the north of the gate of the altar this figure of jealousy, at the entrance.

Ezekiel 8:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 8:5

Then said he unto me, son of man
That is, the glorious Person described above in this vision, the glorious God of Israel, seen by the prophet in the temple, he spoke unto him, calling him son of man; a name by which he often goes in this prophecy: lift up thine eyes now toward the north;
of the mountain of the house without the court, as Jarchi interprets it: so I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north:
being obedient to the heavenly vision: and behold northward at the gate of the altar;
at the northern gate of the inner court, where was the altar of burnt offering, brought by Ahaz; to the north of the altar he built in imitation of that at Damascus, ( 2 Kings 16:10-14 ) ; and here stood this image of jealousy in the entry;
or the image of this jealousy; the image before mentioned, which provoked the Lord to jealousy; this stood at the entry of the northern gate, which led into the inner court, and to the altar.

Ezekiel 8:5 In-Context

3 And He putteth forth a form of a hand, and taketh me by a lock of my head, and lift me up doth a spirit between the earth and the heavens, and it bringeth me in to Jerusalem in visions of God, unto the opening of the inner gate that is facing the north, where [is] the seat of the figure of jealousy that is making jealous,

4 and lo, there the honour of the God of Israel, as the appearance that I saw in the valley.

5 And He saith unto me, `Son of man, lift up, I pray thee, thine eyes the way of the north.' And I lift up mine eyes the way of the north, and lo, on the north of the gate of the altar this figure of jealousy, at the entrance.

6 And He saith unto me, `Son of man, art thou seeing what they are doing? the great abominations that the house of Israel are doing here, to keep far off from My sanctuary; and again thou dost turn, thou dost see great abominations.'

7 And He bringeth me in unto an opening of the court, and I look, and lo, a hole in the wall;