1 ARST On the fifth day of the sixth month, almost six years after the Babylonians had taken us Israelites to their land, I was sitting with the leaders of Judah in my house when I felt the presence of Yahweh the Lord come on me again. BSB BSB: In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me; and there the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me.
2 ARST Then in a vision I saw someone who resembled a man, but below his waist his body was like fire and above his waist his body was glowing like very hot metal. BSB BSB: Then I looked and saw a figure like that of a man. From His waist down His appearance was like fire, and from His waist up He was as bright as the gleam of amber.
3 ARST He reached out what seemed to be a hand and grabbed me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up high above the earth, and in visions God took me from Babylon to Jerusalem. He took me to the temple, to the inner north gate, to the place where there was an idol that caused Yahweh to be very disgusted and furious. BSB BSB: 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.
4 ARST And there in front of me was the very bright light of God himself whom the Israelite people previously worshiped. It was like the vision that I had seen in the plain. BSB BSB: And there I saw the glory of the God of Israel, like the vision I had seen in the plain.
5 ARST God said to me,“Son of man, look toward the north!” So I looked, and I saw at the entrance of the gate near the altar that idol that caused Yahweh to be disgusted and furious. BSB BSB: “Son of man,” He said to me, “now lift up your eyes to the north.” So I lifted up my eyes to the north, and in the entrance north of the Altar Gate I saw this idol of jealousy.
6 ARST He said to me,“Son of man, do you see what the Israelite people are doing? They are doing detestable things here, things that will cause me to abandon my temple. But you will see things that are even more detestable.” BSB BSB: “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even greater abominations.”
7 ARST Then he brought me to the entrance of the courtyard. I looked and saw a hole in the wall. BSB BSB: Then He brought me to the entrance to the court, and I looked and saw a hole in the wall.
8 ARST He said to me,“Son of man, dig through the wall here.” So I dug through the wall, and I saw a doorway inside. BSB BSB: “Son of man,” He told me, “dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall and discovered a doorway.
9 ARST He said to me,“Go in and see the wicked and detestable things that they are doing here!” BSB BSB: Then He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations they are committing here.”
10 ARST So I went in through the doorway and looked, and I saw all over the walls of a big room, drawings of all kinds of creatures that crawl along the ground and other detestable animals, and drawings of all the idols that the people of Israel were worshiping. BSB BSB: So I went in and looked, and engraved all around the wall was every kind of crawling creature and detestable beast, along with all the idols of the house of Israel.
11 ARST In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel. Jaazaniah son of Shaphan, was standing among them. Each of them was holding a pan in which incense was burning, and fragrant smoke of burning incense was rising up. BSB BSB: Before them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.
12 ARST God said to me,“Son of man, look at what the Israelite elders are doing here in the darkness, each of them standing in his rooms with the carved images, worshiping his own idols! They are saying,‘Yahweh does not see us; Yahweh has deserted this country.’” BSB BSB: “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’”
13 ARST He also said,“But you will see things that are even more detestable!” BSB BSB: Again, He told me, “You will see them committing even greater abominations.”
14 ARST Then he took me to the entrance at the outer north gate of the temple. I saw women sitting there, mourning for the death of the god of the people of Babylonia, Tammuz. BSB BSB: Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, weeping for Tammuz.
15 ARST He said to me,“Son of man, do you see this? And you will see things that are more detestable than this!” BSB BSB: “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Yet you will see even greater abominations than these.”
16 ARST Then he took me into the inner courtyard inside the temple. There at the entrance of the temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty- five men. Their backs were toward the temple, and their faces were toward the east; they were bowing down to worship the sun as it rose in the east. BSB BSB: So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.
17 ARST He said to me,“Son of man, do you see what they are doing? Do you think that it is not a serious thing that these men of Judah are doing, worshiping these detestable things here? But they are doing other terrible things. They are acting violently throughout their country, and continually provoking my anger. Look at them! They are insulting me by their actions of false worship! BSB BSB: “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look, they are even putting the branch to their nose!
18 ARST So I will show them that I am very angry. I will not pity them or act mercifully toward them. And even if they shout loudly to me to help them, I will not pay attention to them.” BSB BSB: Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. Although they shout loudly in My ears, I will not listen to them.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.