Ezekiel, 8

1. In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting at home and the elders of Judah were sitting with me, when suddenly the hand of the Lord Yahweh fell on me there.

1. In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.

2. I looked, and there was a form with the appearance of a human being. Downwards from what seemed to be the waist there was fire; and upwards from the waist there was a brilliance like the glitter of amber.

2. Then I beheld, and, lo, a form that had the appearance of a man; below what appeared to be his loins it was fire, and above his loins it was like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming bronze.

3. Something like a hand was stretched out and it took me by a lock of my hair; and the spirit lifted me between heaven and earth and, in visions from God, took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the inner north gate, where stands the idol that provokes jealously.

3. He put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.

4. There was the glory of the God of Israel; it looked like what I had seen in the valley.

4. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.

5. He said, 'Son of man, raise your eyes to the north.' I raised my eyes to the north, and there, to the north of the altar gate, stood this statue of jealousy at the entrance.

5. Then he said to me, "Son of man, lift up your eyes now in the direction of the north." So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy.

6. He said, 'Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the monstrous, loathsome things that the House of Israel is practising here, to drive me out of my sanctuary? And you will see practices more loathsome still.'

6. And he said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations."

7. He next took me to the entrance to the court. I looked; there was a hole in the wall.

7. And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall.

8. He said, 'Son of man, bore through the wall.' I bored through the wall, until I had made an opening.

8. Then said he to me, "Son of man, dig in the wall"; and when I dug in the wall, lo, there was a door.

9. He said, 'Go in and look at the loathsome things they are doing inside.'

9. And he said to me, "Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here."

10. I went in and looked and there was every kind of reptile and repulsive animal, and all the foul idols of the House of Israel, carved all round the walls.

10. So I went in and saw; and there, portrayed upon the wall round about, were all kinds of creeping things, and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel.

11. Seventy elders of the House of Israel were worshipping the idols -- among them Jaazaniah son of Shaphan -- each one with his censer in his hand, from which rose a fragrant cloud of incense.

11. And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Ja-azani'ah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up.

12. He said, 'Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the House of Israel do in the dark, each in his personal image-shrine? They say, "Yahweh cannot see us; Yahweh has abandoned the country." '

12. Then he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, every man in his room of pictures? For they say, `The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.'"

13. He said, 'You will see them at practices more loathsome still.'

13. He said also to me, "You will see still greater abominations which they commit."

14. He next took me to the entrance of the north gate of the Temple of Yahweh where women were sitting, weeping for Tammuz.

14. Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

15. He said, 'Son of man, do you see that? You will see even more loathsome things than that.'

15. Then he said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these."

16. He then led me to the inner court of the Temple of Yahweh. And there, at the entrance to Yahweh's sanctuary, between the portico and the altar, there were about twenty-five men, with their backs to Yahweh's sanctuary and their faces turned towards the east, before the rising sun.

16. And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD; and behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east.

17. He said to me, 'Son of man, do you see that? Is it not bad enough for the House of Judah to be doing the loathsome things they are doing here? But they fill the country with violence and provoke my anger further; look at them now putting that branch to their nostrils.

17. Then he said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too slight a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence, and provoke me further to anger? Lo, they put the branch to their nose.

18. And so I shall react in fury; I shall show neither pity nor mercy. They may cry as loudly as they like to me; I will not listen.'

18. Therefore I will deal in wrath; my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; and though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them."