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EZEKIEL 8
the evil they have done to others,
and they will receive the punishment
they so richly deserve.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Idolatry in the Temple
Then on September 17,* during the sixth
year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, while
the leaders of Judah were in my home, the Sovereign Lord took hold of me. 2 I saw a figure that
appeared to be a man.* From what appeared to
be his waist down, he looked like a burning
flame. From the waist up he looked like gleaming amber.* 3 He reached out what seemed to
be a hand and took me by the hair. Then the
Spirit lifted me up into the sky and transported
me to Jerusalem in a vision from God. I was
taken to the north gate of the inner courtyard
of the Temple, where there is a large idol that
has made the Lord very jealous. 4 Suddenly, the
glory of the God of Israel was there, just as I had
seen it before in the valley.
5 Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, look
toward the north.” So I looked, and there to the
north, beside the entrance to the gate near the
altar, stood the idol that had made the Lord so
jealous.
6 “Son of man,” he said, “do you see what
they are doing? Do you see the detestable sins
the people of Israel are committing to drive me
from my Temple? But come, and you will see
even more detestable sins than these!” 7 Then he
brought me to the door of the Temple courtyard,
where I could see a hole in the wall. 8 He said to
me, “Now, son of man, dig into the wall.” So I
dug into the wall and found a hidden doorway.
9 “Go in,” he said, “and see the wicked and
detestable sins they are committing in there!”
10 So I went in and saw the walls covered with
engravings of all kinds of crawling animals
and detestable creatures. I also saw the various
idols* worshiped by the people of Israel. 11 Seventy leaders of Israel were standing there with
Jaazaniah son of Shaphan in the center. Each
of them held an incense burner, from which a
cloud of incense rose above their heads.
12 Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man,
have you seen what the leaders of Israel are
doing with their idols in dark rooms? They
are saying, ‘The Lord doesn’t see us; he has
deserted our land!’” 13 Then the Lord added,
“Come, and I will show you even more detestable sins than these!”
14 He brought me to the north gate of the
Lord’s Temple, and some women were sitting
there, weeping for the god Tammuz. 15 “Have
you seen this?” he asked. “But I will show you
even more detestable sins than these!”
16 Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. At the entrance to
the sanctuary, between the entry room and
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the bronze altar, there were about twenty-five
men with their backs to the sanctuary of the
Lord. They were facing east, bowing low to the
ground, worshiping the sun!
17 “Have you seen this, son of man?” he asked.
“Is it nothing to the people of Judah that they
commit these detestable sins, leading the whole
nation into violence, thumbing their noses at me,
and provoking my anger? 18 Therefore, I will respond in fury. I will neither pity nor spare them.
And though they cry for mercy, I will not listen.”
The Slaughter of Idolaters
Then the Lord thundered, “Bring on the
men appointed to punish the city! Tell them
to bring their weapons with them!” 2 Six men
soon appeared from the upper gate that faces
north, each carrying a deadly weapon in his
hand. With them was a man dressed in linen,
who carried a writer’s case at his side. They all
went into the Temple courtyard and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Then the glory of the God of Israel rose up
from between the cherubim, where it had rested,
and moved to the entrance of the Temple. And
the Lord called to the man dressed in linen who
was carrying the writer’s case. 4 He said to him,
“Walk through the streets of Jerusalem and put
a mark on the foreheads of all who weep and
sigh because of the detestable sins being committed in their city.”
5 Then I heard the Lord say to the other men,
“Follow him through the city and kill everyone
whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy;
have no pity! 6 Kill them all—old and young,
girls and women and little children. But do not
touch anyone with the mark. Begin right here at
the Temple.” So they began by killing the seventy leaders.
7 “Defile the Temple!” the Lord commanded.
“Fill its courtyards with corpses. Go!” So they
went and began killing throughout the city.
8 While they were out killing, I was all alone.
I fell face down on the ground and cried out,
“O Sovereign Lord! Will your fury against Jerusalem wipe out everyone left in Israel?”
9 Then he said to me, “The sins of the people
of Israel and Judah are very, very great. The entire land is full of murder; the city is filled with
injustice. They are saying, ‘The Lord doesn’t
see it! The Lord has abandoned the land!’ 10 So
I will not spare them or have any pity on them.
I will fully repay them for all they have done.”
11 Then the man in linen clothing, who carried the writer’s case, reported back and said,
“I have done as you commanded.”
9
8:1 Hebrew on the fifth [day] of the sixth month, of the ancient
Hebrew lunar calendar. This event occurred on September 17,
592 b.c.; also see note on 1:1. 8:2a As in Greek version;
Hebrew reads appeared to be fire. 8:2b Or like burnished
metal. 8:10 The Hebrew term (literally round things)
probably alludes to dung.