Ezechiel 8

¹And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth of the month: I sat in my house, and the ancients of Juda sat before me, and the hand of our Lord God fell there upon me.

²And I saw, and behold a similitude as it were the resemblance of fire: from the resemblance of his loins, and downward, fire: and from his loins, and upward, as it were the resemblance of brightness, as the appearance of amber.

³And the similitude of a hand put forth took me by the locks of my head: and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me into Jerusalem in the vision of God, beside the inner door, that looked to the North, where was set an idol of zeal to provoke emulation.

⁴And lo there the glory of the God of Israel according to the vision which I had seen in the field.

⁵And he said to me: Son of man, lift up thine eyes to the way of the North. And I lifted up mine eyes to the way of the North: and behold on the North of the port of the altar the idol of zeal in the very entry.

⁶And he said to me: Son of man, doest thou see thinkest thou what these do, the great abominations, that the house of Israel doth here, that I may depart far from my sanctuary? And yet turning thou shalt see greater abominations.

⁷And he brought me into the door of the court: and I saw, and behold one hole in the wall.

⁸And he said to me: Son of man dig the wall. And when I had digged the wall, there appeared one door.

⁹And he said to me: Go in, and see the most wicked abominations, which these do here.

¹⁰And being entered in I saw, and behold every similitude of creeping creatures, and beasts, abomination, and all the idols of the house of Israel were painted in the wall round about throughout.

¹¹And seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and Jezonias the son of Saphan stood in the midst of them, that stood before the pictures: and every one had a censer in his hand: and a vapour of a cloud rose up from the frankincense.

¹²And he said to me: Surely thou seest son of man what things the ancients of the house of Israel do in darkness, every one in the secret of his chamber: for they say: Our Lord seeth us not, our Lord hath forsaken the earth.

¹³And he said to me: Yet turning thou shalt see greater abominations, which these do.

¹⁴And he brought me in by the door of the gate of the house of our Lord, which looked to the North: and behold their women sat mourning for Adonis.

¹⁵And he said to me: Surely thou hast seen o son of man: yet turning thou shalt see greater abominations than these.

¹⁶And he brought me into the inner court of the house of our Lord: and behold in the door of the temple of our Lord between the porch and the altar, as it were five and twenty men having their backs against the temple of our Lord, and their faces to the East: and they adored toward the rising of the sun.

¹⁷And he said to me: Surely thou hast seen o son of man: Why, is this a light thing to the house of Juda, that they should do these abominations, which they have done here: because they replenishing the land with iniquity, are turned to provoke me? And behold they put a bough to their nostrils.

¹⁸Therefore I also will do in my fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have mercy: and when they shall cry to mine ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.