CHAPTER 8
1 And it was done in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, I sat in mine house, and the eld [or old] men of Judah sat before me; and the hand of the Lord God fell there [up] on me.
2 And I saw, and lo! a likeness as the beholding of fire; from the beholding of his loins and beneath was fire, and from his loins and above was as the beholding of shining, as the sight of electrum, [that is, metal made of gold and silver, brighter than gold].
3 And the likeness of an hand was sent out, and took me by the hair, either locks, of mine head; and the spirit raised me [up] betwixt heaven and earth, and brought me into Jerusalem, in the sight of God, beside the inner door that beheld to the north, where the idol of envy was set, to stir indignation.
4 And lo! the glory of God of Israel was there, by the sight which I saw in the field.
5 And he said to me, Thou, son of man, raise up thine eyes to the way of the north; and I raised mine eyes to the way of the north, and lo! from the north of the gate of the altar, the idol of envy was in that entering.
6 And he said to me, Son of man, guessest thou whether thou seest what thing these men do, the great abominations which the house of Israel doeth here, that I go far away from my saintuary? and yet thou shalt turn, and shalt see greater abominations.
7 And he led me within to the door of the foreyard; and I saw, and lo! one hole in the wall.
8 And he said to me, Son of man, dig thou in the wall; and when I had digged in the wall, one door appeared.
9 And he said to me, Enter thou, and see the worst abominations, which these men do here.
10 And I entered, and saw; and lo! each likeness of reptiles, either creeping beasts, and abominations of beasts, and all [the] idols of the house of Israel, were painted in the wall all about in compass.
11 And seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel stood; and Jaa-zaniah, the son of Shaphan, stood in the midst of them, standing before the paintings; and each man had a censer in his hand, and the smoke of a cloud of incense went up.
12 And he said to me, Certainly, son of man, thou seest what things the elder men of the house of Israel do in darknesses, each man in the hid place of his bed; for they say, The Lord seeth not us, the Lord hath forsaken the land.
13 And the Lord said to me, Yet thou shalt turn, and shalt see greater abominations, which these men do.
14 And he led me within, by the door of the gate of the house of the Lord, which door beheld to the north; and lo! women sat there, bewailing Adonis or Tammuz.
15 And the Lord said to me, Certainly, son of man, thou hast seen; yet thou shalt turn, and shalt see greater abominations than these.
16 And he led me within, into the inner foreyard of the house of the Lord; and lo! in the door of the temple of the Lord, betwixt the porch and the altar, were as five and twenty men having their backs against the temple of the Lord, and their faces to the east; and they worshipped at the rising of the sun.
17 And the Lord said to me, Certainly, son of man, thou hast seen; whether this is a light thing to the house of Judah, that they should do these abominations, which they did here? For they filled the land with wicked-ness, and turned to stir me to wrath; and lo! they apply a branch to their nostrils.
18 Therefore and I shall do in strong vengeance; mine eye shall not spare, neither I shall do mercy; and when they shall cry to mine ears with great voice, I shall not hear them.