The Hand of the Lord God Comes Upon Ezekiel in Judah |
Ezekiel 8:1-18 The Book of Ezekiel [in Smaller Chunks] |
And it [happened on] the 5th day, [of] the 6th month, [during] the 6th year, as I sat in [my] house & the elders of Judah sat [in front of] me, that the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. |
Then, I [saw & looked at] [what] [looked like] the appearance of fire; from His [waist] downward, [that appeared like] the brightness [of] the [color] of amber. [Ezekiel 1:26-28 And above the firmament that was over their heads, was the [resemblance] of a throne, [similar to] sapphire stones. |
And upon the [resemblance] of the throne, was [like] the appearance of a Man, above, upon [the throne.] And I saw [what appeared to be] fire, the color of amber [around] & within it. And the appearance of His [waist] & upward & even downward, I saw as [if] it were the appearance of fire, [with its] brightness [all around it.] |
[Like] the appearance of the [rainbow] that is in [a] cloud [on a rainy] day. [Also,] was the appearance of the brightness [all around it.] This appearance was the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face & I heard a voice of [the] One, [Who spoke.] |
And He put [out] the [shape] of a hand & took me by a lock of [hair from] [my] head & the Spirit lifted me up, [a.k.a. transported me] between the earth & the heaven. |
And brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the inner [gate's] door, [facing] North; where the seat of the image of jealousy was, [that] provokes to jealousy. [Exodus 20:4-5 You shall not make [yourself] any [carved] image, or any likeness of anything that is in: heaven above, or is in earth [below,] or is in the water under the earth. |
You shall not bow [yourself] down to them, nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, Am a jealous God, visiting the [sin] of the fathers upon the children [until] the 3rd & 4th [generations] of [those who] hate Me.] |
And I saw, the glory of the God of Israel was there, [like] the vision I saw [on] the plain. Then, He said to me, Son of man, now lift up your eyes toward the North. So, I [raised my] eyes toward the [road facing] North & [looked] Northward at the gate of the altar. |
This image of jealousy [was] in the [gate's] [entrance.] Furthermore, He said to me, Son of man, [do] you see what they do? Even the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, that I should go far [away] from My sanctuary? But turn [yourself still] again & you shall see greater abominations. |
[2 Kings 21:4-7 And he built altars in the [Lord's] house, of which the Lord said, I will put My Name in Jerusalem. And he built altars for all the [stars & constellations] of heaven in the 2 [courts] of the [Lord's] house. |
And he made his son pass through the fire; observed times, [a.k.a. astrology & horoscopes;] used enchantments; dealt with familiar spirits, [a.k.a. talking to the dead,] & wizards. He [brought about] much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. |
And he [put from] the grove, [a carved] image [that] he made, into the house, of which the Lord said to David & to Solomon, his son, I will put My Name in this house forever & in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.] |
And He brought me to the door of the court & when I looked, [I] [saw] a hole in the wall. Then, He said to me, Son of man, now dig in the wall. And when I had [dug] in the wall, [I] [saw] a door. And He said to me, Go in & [see] the wicked abominations that they do here. |
So, I went in & saw. And [saw] every [type] of creeping things & abominable [animals] & all the idols of the house of Israel, [drawn] upon the wall [all around it.] And there stood [in front of] them, 70 men of the [elders from] the house of Israel. |
And Jaazaniah, [Shaphan's] son, stood in the midst of them & every man with his censer in his hand. And a thick cloud of incense went up. 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 [rooms] of his [images.] |
For they say, The Lord [doesn't] see us. The Lord has [abandoned] the earth. He also said to me, [Still,] turn [yourself] again & you shall see [even] greater abominations that they do. |
Then, He brought me to the [gate's] door of the [Lord's] house [facing] North & [saw] women weeping for Tammuz, [a.k.a. a Babylonian fertility goddess,] there. Then, He said to me, [Have] you seen this, O Son of man? Turn [yourself, still] again & you shall see greater abominations than these. |
And He brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house & [I] [saw] at the door of the [Lord's] temple, between the porch & the altar, [there] were about 25 men with their backs toward the [Lord's] temple [facing] East & they worshiped the sun toward the East. |
[2 Kings 23:11 And he took away the horses that [Judah's] kings had [offered] to the sun & burned the chariots of the sun with fire, at the [entrance] of the [Lord's] house, by the [room] of [the officer,] Nathan Melech, which was in the suburbs.] |
Then, He said to me, Have you seen this, O Son of man? Is it a [little] thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations, [that] they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence & have returned to provoke Me to anger. |
And [look,] they [thumb] their nose [at Me.] Therefore, I will also [respond with] fury & [My] eye shall not spare & neither will I have pity. And [although] they cry [out] in [My] ears with a loud voice, [still] I won't hear them. |
[Ezekiel 5:11 The Lord God says, As I live, [for this reason,] because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things & with all your abominations, therefore, I will also [reduce] you & neither shall [My] eyes spare, [nor] will I have pity.] |