Keraia
Ezekiel 8

Ezekiel 8:3

The Vision of Idolatry in the Temple · Ezekiel 8:1–18
Read Ezekiel 8

Translations

Modern
He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated.
Traditional
And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
Literal
And He sent out the form of a hand, and He took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted up me between the earth and between the heavens, and brought me to Jerusalem in visions of God, to the door of the inner gate facing north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy which provokes to jealousy.
Latin
Et emissa similitudo manus apprehendit me in cincinno capitis mei, et elevavit me spiritus inter terram et cælum: et adduxit me in Jerusalem, in visione Dei, juxta ostium interius quod respiciebat ad aquilonem, ubi erat statutum idolum zeli ad provocandam æmulationem.

Original

Hebrew
English
He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes jealousy was seated.

Notes

Ezekiel 8:2–3

  • While the leaders gathered, Ezekiel saw a vision of what seemed to be a man. The description is similar to the one in Ezekiel 1:26–27. This time, Ezekiel was lifted into the sky and transported to Jerusalem.

  • like that of … His appearance was like … looked like: What Ezekiel saw went beyond normal human experience (see study note on Ezekiel 1:4–28).

Ezekiel 8:3–6

In the first abomination, the large idol was probably an image of the Canaanite goddess Asherah. The people had placed it at the gate to guard the city from attack.

Most of Jerusalem’s enemies had attacked from the north. This may explain why the idol stood at the north gate. The people believed this false goddess would protect them.

This idol made the Lord very jealous. The Lord alone deserved honor and worship as Israel’s protector (Psalm 121:1–4). The Lord was offended because the people trusted an idol to guard the city he had chosen.

Ezekiel 8:3–16

God showed Ezekiel four scenes of increasing abomination (a deeply offensive act). In each scene, the people of Israel were worshiping false gods inside the Lord’s temple.

Jerusalem’s defilement (moral and spiritual uncleanness) was complete. Idolatry (the worship of false gods) took place in many parts of the temple. Different groups of people were involved. They worshiped different gods. These gods came from many foreign cultures.

This was not one small sin. It was a mixture of many false religions brought together in one place. One abomination was added to another.

Ezekiel 8:1–18

In a vision, the prophet Ezekiel saw four ways the people defiled their land. This vision explains why the Lord's presence left his sanctuary.

Ezekiel 8:1–11:25

This section describes how the people defiled (made unclean by sin) the temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8). Because of this sin, the Lord left the temple. After he left, the city and the temple were destroyed (9:1–11:13).

At first, this sounds like only bad news. But for those already living in exile, it was also good news. The Lord was not limited to the temple in Jerusalem. He would come to be with his people in exile.

By coming to dwell with them, the Lord showed that the exiles were not forgotten. They were the ones who carried hope for the future of God’s people.

Events

Places

Jerusalem: The capital of Israel, a holy city for three religions

Glossary

Ezekiel, Book of Vision, Visions

Topics

Dreadlocks Holy Spirit: Inspiration of Ezekiel Image of Jealousy Jealousy: Image of Visions: To Ezekiel (See Chapters 10, 40-48 of Ezekiel)