YEḤEZQĔL 8

1 And it came to be in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month, as I sat in my house with the elders of Yahuḏah sitting before me, that the hand of the Aḏon 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 fell upon me there.

2 And I looked and saw a likeness, like the appearance of fire. From His waist and downward the appearance was like fire, and from His waist and upward the appearance of brightness, like glowing metal.

3 And He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair. And the Ruaḥ lifted me up between the earth and the shamayim, and brought me in visions of Elohim to Yerushalayim, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which causes jealousy.

4 And see, the esteem of the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.

5 And He said to me, “Son of man, please lift your eyes toward the north.” And I lifted my eyes northward, and north of the altar gate I saw this image of jealousy in the entrance.

6 And He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations which the house of Yisra’ĕl are doing here, driving Me away from My Miqdash? And you are to see still greater abominations.”

7 Then He brought me to the door of the court. And I looked and saw a hole in the wall.

8 And He said to me, “Son of man, please dig into the wall.” And when I dug into the wall I saw a door.

9 And He said to me, “Go in, and see the evil abominations which they are doing there.”

10 And I went in and looked and saw all kinds of creeping creatures, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Yisra’ĕl, carved all around on the walls.

11 And facing them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Yisra’ĕl, and in their midst stood Ya’azanyahu son of Shaphan. Each one had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up.

12 And He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Yisra’ĕl are doing in the dark, each one in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 does not see us, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 has forsaken the land.’ ”

13 And He said to me, “You are to see still greater abominations which they are doing.”

14 And He brought me to the door of the north gate of the House of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, and I saw women sitting there, weeping for Tammuz.

15 Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You are to see still greater abominations than these.”

16 And He brought me into the inner court of the House of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄. And there, at the door of the Hĕyḵal of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the Hĕyḵal of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 and their faces toward the east, and they were bowing themselves eastward to the sun.

17 And He said to me, “Have you seen, O son of man? Is it a small matter to the house of Yahuḏah to do the abominations which they have done here? For they have filled the land with violence, and turn back to provoke Me. And see, they are putting the branch to My nose.

18 “Therefore I shall indeed deal in wrath. My eye shall not pardon nor would I spare. And they shall cry in My ears with a loud voice, but I shall not hear them.”