1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me.
2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.
3 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.
4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.
5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
6 He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.
7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.
8 Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.
9 And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.
10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.
11 And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.
12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, the Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.
13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.
14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.
16 And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.
18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
<html><b>in the sixth year</b> of the exile of Jeconiah.</html>
<html><b>from the appearance of its loins, etc.</b> It is forbidden to reflect on this verse.</html>
<html><b>by a lock of my hair</b> Heb. צִיצִיתרֹאשִּׁי [lit. fringes of my head.] By the hair of my head, flozel in Old French, a lock of hair. <b>in the visions of God</b> He showed me [a vision looking] as if He were carrying me and bringing me to Jerusalem. <b>the inner gate that faces north</b> The gate to the court, which is within the Temple Mount, [and] which had gates to all its sides. <b>the image of jealousy</b> The image of jealousy would make the Holy One, blessed be He, jealous and provoke Him, for they put it there to make the Holy One, blessed be He, jealous; to anger Him, and so did Jonathan render: the image of jealousy, which they provoked.</html>
<html><b>“Now lift your eyes northward”</b> Toward the Temple Mount, outside the court. For he [already] was standing outside the northern entrance of the court, and north of the gate is [farther] outside the court. <b>from the north of the gate of the altar</b> On the Temple Mount, from the north of that northern gate of the court, and I say that that gate was exactly in line with the gate of the altar. <b>at the entrance</b> Heb. בַּבִאָה. When a person comes to enter the court, he finds it there; a l’entree in French, at the entrance.</html>
<html><b>to cause Me to distance Myself from My sanctuary</b> In order that I distance Myself from My sanctuary.</html>
<html><b>to the entrance of the court</b> He brought me up until the entrance of that very gate. <b>a hole in the wall</b> The wall of the court.</html>
<html><b>dig now in the wall</b> and widen the hole. <b>and behold an entrance</b> Through the hole, I saw the entrance of one chamber.</html>
<html><b>of detestation</b> Made for the detestation of idolatry. <b>engraved</b> Heb. מְחֻקֶה, engraved on the wall.</html>
<html><b>and Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan</b> He was of high esteem, and his generation was learning from him; therefore, He took particular offense at him. <b>and a thick cloud of incense</b> Heb. עֲתַר, thick. The ascent of the smoke of the cloud of the incense [was thick]. The word עַתַר denotes immensity, and so (35:13): “and have magnified (הַעְתַּרְתֶּם) your words against Me,” and so (Prov. 27:6): “whereas kisses of an enemy are burdensome (נַעְתָּרוֹת).” Menachem (p. 140) grouped all three under one heading and they all denote an idea of thickness, but each one is an independent expression.</html>
<html><b>in his paved chambers</b> Heb. מַשְּׂכִּיתוֹ. Covered with a floor of marble. An expression related to (Exod. 32:22): “and I will cover (וְשֲּׂכֹּתִי) you with My hand.”</html>
<html><b>to the entrance of the gate of the house of the Lord</b> Within the inner space of the courtyard [that led] to the entrance of the heichal that is in the north, for the master [R. Jose the son] taught: Two wickets were in the Temple chamber for the knives, one in the north and one in the south (see Zev. 55b, 56a). <b>making the Tammuz weep</b> There was an image that they would heat up from the inside, and its eyes, which were of lead, would melt from the heat of the fire, and it would appear as though it was weeping, and they would say, “It is asking for an offering.” “Tammuz” is an expression of heating, like (Dan. 3:19): “more than it was wont to be heated (לְמֵזְיֵהּ)”; (ibid. 22), “and the furnace exceedingly hot (אֵזֵהּ).” <b>Making the Tammuz cry</b> is fesant plorer la chalfez in Old French; making the heated [god] weep.</html>
<html><b>And He brought me to the inner court of the house of the Lord</b> This is the Temple court, for the Temple Mount is called the outer court, and until now that is where he [already] had been standing, except that he had entered the northern gate when He showed him the image of the Tammuz in the chamber of the knives. Then He brought him to the east, [to stand] before the Temple and the altar. <b>and their faces toward the east</b> From the implication of the statement, “and their faces toward the east,” I [already] know that “their backs were toward the Temple,” but [Scripture] tells us that their posteriors were exposed, for they would uncover themselves and excrete downward. <b>and they were prostrating themselves</b> Heb. מִשְּׁתַּחֲוִיתֶם. This serves as two words, an expression of destruction (הַשְּׁחָתָה) and an expression of prostrating oneself (הִשְּׁתַּחֲוָיָה). So it is in Yerushalmi (Suc. 5:5, see Korban Ha’edah): “They were destroying the Temple and bowing to the sun.” Jonathan, too, rendered in that manner: and they were destroying and bowing.” Menachem (p. 171) classified it as an expression of bending down, like (Isa. 51:23): “Bend down (שְּׁחִי) and let us cross.”</html>
<html><b>Was it [too] trivial to the house of Judah</b> Is it trivial and light in their eyes, the other sins that they have committed? <b>to prevent them from performing the abominations</b> that they should refrain from doing all the abominations that they have done in My house here? <b>for they have [already] filled the land with violence</b> and that that iniquity is trivial in their eyes, and they repeatedly provoke Me within My house with these abominations. <b>and behold they send disgrace into their nose</b> Behold they send to their nose the foul odor of this “song,” which they “sing” with the wind emerging from their anus; i.e., this disgrace of theirs will come back to their faces. Menachem (p. 79) explained: “and behold they send the disgrace into their nose” is a matter of disgrace and shame; and according to his explanation, He compares the aroma of their censers and (Ezek. 20:28) “the anger of their sacrifices” and (ibid.) “their pleasant aroma” to the work of the disgrace of the orifices. “Their backs to the Temple of the Lord” implies this idea.</html>