Vision of Repulsive Acts in Jerusalem

1It came about in the [a]sixth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin], on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I sat in my house [near Babylon] with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord [b]GOD fell on me there. 2Then I looked, and behold, a likeness [of a man] with the appearance of fire; from His [c]loins downward He was like fire, and from His loins upward He had the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal (bronze). 3He stretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of hair on my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner courtyard, where the seat of the idol (image) of [d]jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located. 4And behold, the glory and brilliance of the God of Israel [who had loved and chosen them] was there, like the vision which I saw in the plain.

5Then He said to me, “Son of man, now raise your eyes toward the north.” So I looked toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this idol (image) of jealousy at the entrance. 6Furthermore, He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great repulsive acts which the house of Israel is committing here, to drive Me far away from My sanctuary? But you will again see greater repulsive acts.”

7Then He brought me to the entrance of the courtyard; and when I looked, behold, [there was] a hole in the wall. 8He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” And when I had dug into the wall, behold, there was an entrance. 9And He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked, repulsive acts that they are committing here.” 10So I entered and looked, and saw every kind of creeping things and beasts and loathsome things, and all the idols of the house of Israel, carved all around on the wall. 11Standing before these [images] were seventy elders of the house of Israel, and among them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan [the scribe], each man with his censer in his hand and a thick and fragrant cloud of incense was rising [as they prayed to these gods]. 12Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, each man in his [secret] room of carved images? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has abandoned the land.’” 13He also said to me, “Yet again you will see even greater repulsive acts which they are committing.”

14Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the LORD’S house; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for [e]Tammuz. 15He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater repulsive acts than these [that they are committing].”

16So He brought me to the inner court of the LORD’S house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the porch (vestibule, portico) and the [bronze] altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing down toward the east and worshiping the sun. 17He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it too slight a thing for the house of Judah to commit the repulsive acts which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and repeatedly provoked Me to anger? And behold, they are putting the [f]branch to their nose. 18Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare [them]; and though they cry loudly in My ears, yet I will not listen to them.”

[a] 1 September 592 B.C.
[b] 1 Heb YHWH.
[c] 2 The midsection of the body from the lower ribs to the hips.
[d] 3 God does not tolerate the transfer of the honor and worship that is due Him to any other being or object.
[e] 14 A Babylonian god whose supposed death each summer caused the vegetation to wilt and die. In the spring he returned from the underworld bringing rain and new growth. His worship also involved fertility rituals.
[f] 17 The pagan object of worship is uncertain, but the act was contemptuous to God.