Abominations in the Temple
1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixthmonth,on the fifthdayof the month, as I sat in my house withthe elders of Judah sitting before me, thatthe hand of the LordGodfell upon me there.
2 Then I looked, and there was a likeness, like the appearance of fire—from the appearance of His waist and downward, fire; and from His waist and upward, like the appearance of brightness,like the color of amber.
3 Hestretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; andthe Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, andbrought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the innercourt,where the seat of the image of jealousywas,whichprovokes to jealousy.
4 And behold, theglory of the God of Israelwasthere, like the vision that Isaw in the plain.
5 Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.
6 Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the greatabominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.”
7 So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall.
8 Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall”; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door.
9 And He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.”
10 So I went in and saw, and there—everysort ofcreeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls.
11 And there stood before themseventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up.
12 Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say,‘TheLorddoes not see us, theLordhas forsaken the land.’ ”
13 And He said to me, “Turn again,andyou will see greater abominations that they are doing.”
14 So He brought me to the door of the north gate of theLord’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.
15 Then He said to me, “Have you seenthis,O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.”
16 So He brought me into the inner court of theLord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of theLord,between the porch and the altar,wereabout twenty-five menwith their backs toward the temple of theLordand their faces toward the east, and they were worshipingthe sun toward the east.
17 And He said to me, “Have you seenthis,O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they havefilled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose.
18 Therefore I also will act in fury. Myeye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though theycry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”