The prophet sees in a vision the abominations committed in Jerusalem;
which determine the Lord to spare them no longer.
8:1. And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the
fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the ancients of Juda
sat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me.
8:2. And I saw, and behold a likeness as the appearance of fire: from
the appearance of his loins, and downward, fire: and from his loins,
and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the appearance of
amber.
8:3. And the likeness of a hand was put forth and took me by a lock of
my head: and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven,
and brought me in the vision of God into Jerusalem, near the inner
gate, that looked toward the north, where was set the idol of jealousy
to provoke to jealousy.
8:4. And behold the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to
the vision which I had seen in the plain.
8:5. And he said to me: Son of man, lift up thy eyes towards the way of
the north, and I lifted up my eyes towards the way of the north: and
behold on the north side of the gate of the altar the idol of jealousy
in the very entry.
8:6. And he said to me: Son of man, dost thou see, thinkest thou, what
these are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel
committeth here, that I should depart far off from my sanctuary? and
turn thee yet again and thou shalt see greater abominations.
8:7. And he brought me in to the door of the court: and I saw, and
behold a hole in the wall.
8:8. And he said to me: Son of man, dig in the wall, and when I had
digged in the wall, behold a door.
8:9. And he said to me: Go in, and see the wicked abominations which
they commit here.
8:10. And I went in and saw, and behold every form of creeping things,
and of living creatures, the abominations, and all the idols of the
house of Israel, were painted on the wall all round about.
8:11. And seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and
Jezonias the son of Saaphan stood in the midst of them, that stood
before the pictures: and every one had a censer in his hand: and a
cloud of smoke went up from the incense.
8:12. And he said to me: Surely thou seest, O son of man, what the
ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every one in private in
his chamber: for they say: The Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath
forsaken the earth.
8:13. And he said to me: If thou turn thee again, thou shalt see
greater abominations which these commit.
8:14. And he brought me in by the door of the gate of the Lord's house,
which looked to the north: and behold women sat there mourning for
Adonis.
Adonis. . .The favourite of Venus, slain by a wild boar, as feigned by
the heathen poets, and which being here represented by an idol, is
lamented by the female worshippers of that goddess. In the Hebrew, the
name is Tammuz.
8:15. And he said to me: Surely thou hast seen, O son of man: but turn
thee again, thou shalt see greater abominations than these.
8:16. And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord:
and behold at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and
the altar, were about five and twenty men having their backs towards
the temple of the Lord, in their faces to the east: and they adored
towards the rising of the sun.
8:17. And he said to me: Surely thou hast seen, O son of man: is this a
light thing to the house of Juda, that they should commit these
abominations which they have committed here: because they have filled
the land with iniquity, and have turned to provoke me to anger? and
behold they put a branch to their nose.
8:18. Therefore I also will deal with them in my wrath: my eye shall
not spare them, neither will I shew mercy: and when they shall cry to
my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.