Ezekiel 8

And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.

1It was the sixth year, the sixth month, and the fifth day. I was sitting in my house. The leaders of Judah were sitting in front of me. There the hand of the Lord GOD came upon me.

2Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.

2I looked and saw a shape like a man. From the waist down he looked like fire. From the waist up he shone bright, like glowing golden metal.

NoteThe KJV says "the colour of amber." Amber here means a shining, golden metal, not the soft yellow stone people wear as jewelry.

3And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

3He reached out something like a hand. He took hold of my hair. God's Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the sky. In a vision from God, He brought me to Jerusalem. I was at the north gate of the temple's inner yard. That is where a certain idol stood. An idol is a statue people bow down to. This one made God angry, because it took the honor that belongs to Him.

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

4The shining glory of the God of Israel was there. It looked like what I had seen before, out on the flat land.

5Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.

5He said to me, "Son of man, look up toward the north." "Son of man" is what God called Ezekiel. It means a human being. So I looked north. There by the gate near the altar stood that idol, right in the entryway.

6He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.

6He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing? The people of Israel are doing terrible, hateful things right here. They are pushing Me far away from My holy house. But look again. You will see things even worse."

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

7Then He brought me to the entrance of the temple yard. I looked and saw a hole in the wall.

8Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.

8He said to me, "Son of man, dig into this wall." So I dug into the wall, and I found a door.

9And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.

9He said to me, "Go inside. See the wicked, hateful things they are doing here."

10So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.

10So I went in and looked. Carved all around the wall were crawling animals and animals people were not to eat. There were also all the idols of the people of Israel.

11And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.

11Seventy leaders of Israel stood in front of these pictures. Jaazaniah son of Shaphan stood among them. Each man held a small dish for burning incense. Incense is a spice that smells sweet when it burns. A thick cloud of smoke rose up from them.

NoteA "censer" was a small dish or pan for burning incense. The KJV calls these men "the ancients," which meant the elders, or leaders, not very old people.

12Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

12He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what Israel's leaders do in the dark? Each one is in his own room full of idol pictures. They say, 'The LORD does not see us. The LORD has left the land.'"

13He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.

13He said to me again, "Look once more. You will see them do even worse things."

14Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

14Then He brought me to the north gate of the LORD's house. Women were sitting there and crying for Tammuz.

15Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.

15He said to me, "Son of man, do you see this? Look again. You will see things even worse than these."

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

16Then He brought me into the inner yard of the LORD's house. There, between the porch and the altar, stood about twenty-five men. Their backs were turned to the LORD's temple. Their faces were turned toward the east. They were bowing to the east to worship the sun.

17Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

17He said to me, "Son of man, do you see this? The people of Judah do these hateful things here. Is that not enough for them? They have also filled the land with violence. Again and again they make Me angry. Look, they even hold the branch up to their nose."

Note"Is it a light thing" means "Is it a small thing" or "Is that not enough." Nobody knows for sure what putting the branch to the nose was. It seems to have been part of the worship the men were doing.

18Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.

18"So I will act in anger. I will not look at them with pity. I will not hold back. Even if they shout loudly in My ears, I will not listen to them."