Ezekiel 8

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting at home and the elders of Judah weresitting with me, when suddenly the hand of the Lord Yahweh fel on me there.
2 I looked, and there was a form with the appearance of a human being. Downwards from what seemedto be the waist there was fire; and upwards from the waist there was a bril iance like the glitter of amber.
3 Something like a hand was stretched out and it took me by a lock of my hair; and the spirit lifted mebetween heaven and earth and, in visions from God, took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the inner northgate, where stands the idol that provokes jealousy.	3 Spirit lifted me up in the air and brought me in divine visions to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate, where stood the statue of jealousy which stirs up jealousy.
4 There was the glory of the God of Israel; it looked like what I had seen in the val ey.
5 He said, 'Son of man, raise your eyes to the north.' I raised my eyes to the north, and there, to the northof the altar gate, stood this statue of jealousy at the entrance.	5 He said to me: Son of man, look toward the north! I looked toward the north and saw northward of the gate the altar of the statue of jealousy.
6 He said, 'Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the monstrous, loathsome things that the Houseof Israel is practising here, to drive me out of my sanctuary? And you wil see practices more loathsome still.'	6 Son of man, he asked me, do you see what they are doing? Do you see the great abominations that the house of Israel is practicing here, so that I must depart from my sanctuary? But you shall see still greater abominations!
7 He next took me to the entrance to the court. I looked; there was a hole in the wal .	7 Then he brought me to the entrance of the court, where I saw there was a hole in the wall.
8 He said, 'Son of man, bore through the wal .' I bored through the wall, until I had made an opening.	8 Son of man, he ordered, dig through the wall. I dug through the wall and saw a door.
9 He said, 'Go in and look at the loathsome things they are doing inside.'	9 Enter, he said to me, and see the abominable evils which they are doing here.
10 I went in and looked and there was every kind of reptile and repulsive animal, and al the foul idols ofthe House of Israel, carved al round the walls.	10 I entered and saw that all around upon the wall were pictured the figures of all kinds of creeping things and loathsome beasts (all the idols of the house of Israel).
11 Seventy elders of the House of Israel were worshipping the idols -- among them Jaazaniah son ofShaphan -- each one with his censer in his hand, from which rose a fragrant cloud of incense.	11 Before these stood seventy of the elders of the house of Israel, among whom stood Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan, each of them with his censer in his hand, and the fragrance of the incense was rising upward.
12 He said, 'Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the House of Israel do in the dark, each in hispersonal image-shrine? They say, "Yahweh cannot see us; Yahweh has abandoned the country." '	12 Then he said to me: Do you see, son of man, what each of these elders of the house of Israel is doing in his idol room? They think: "The LORD cannot see us; the LORD has forsaken the land."
13 He said, 'You wil see them at practices more loathsome stil .'	13 He continued: You shall see still greater abominations that they are practicing.
14 He next took me to the entrance of the north gate of the Temple of Yahweh where women were sitting,weeping for Tammuz.	14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the temple, and I saw sitting there the women who were weeping for Tammuz.
15 He said, 'Son of man, do you see that? You will see even more loathsome things than that.'	15 Then he said to me: Do you see this, son of man? You shall see other abominations, greater than these!
16 He then led me to the inner court of the Temple of Yahweh. And there, at the entrance to Yahweh'ssanctuary, between the portico and the altar, there were about twenty-five men, with their backs to Yahweh'ssanctuary and their faces turned towards the east. They were prostrating themselves to the east, before therising sun.	16 Then he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and there at the door of the LORD'S temple, between the vestibule and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the LORD'S temple and their faces toward the east; they were bowing down to the sun.
17 He said to me, 'Son of man, do you see that? Is it not bad enough for the House of Judah to be doingthe loathsome things they are doing here? But they fil the country with violence and provoke my anger further;look at them now putting that branch to their nostrils.	17 Do you see, son of man? he asked me. Is it such a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the abominable things they have done here--for they have filled the land with violence, and again and again they have provoked me--that now they must also put the branch to my nose?
18 And so I shal react in fury; I shal show neither pity nor mercy. They may cry as loudly as they like to me; I wil not listen.'	18 Therefore I in turn will act furiously: I will not look upon them with pity nor will I show mercy.