Ezekiel Chapter 8
Showing all 18 verses for Ezekiel Chapter 8.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"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. "
"In the sixth year, the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting in front of me, the power of the Lord GOD came down on me there."
I often meet people in the middle of ordinary life — a normal afternoon, a normal conversation — rather than only in dramatic, obviously 'spiritual' moments. Stay open to being genuinely reached in the middle of your everyday routine, not just during moments you've set aside as special.
"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. "
"I looked, and there was a figure that looked like fire — from what seemed like its waist down, it was fire, and from its waist up, it looked bright, like glowing amber."
When something important calls back to an earlier defining moment in your life, pay attention — I often build on foundations already laid rather than starting completely from scratch each time. Trust the continuity in your own story.
"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. "
"It stretched out what looked like a hand and took hold of me by a lock of my hair; the spirit lifted me up between earth and sky and carried me, in a vision from God, to Jerusalem — to the entrance of the inner north-facing gate, where a statue that provoked God to jealousy stood."
I want you to see clearly, not just hear secondhand, when something you trust has quietly become corrupted — sometimes real growth means being shown the uncomfortable truth directly, even when it's easier to stay comfortably unaware.
"And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. "
"And there it was — the glory of the God of Israel, just as I had seen it before in the vision out on the plain."
The same steady presence that called you to something meaningful in the past doesn't disappear when things get uncomfortable or exposing — I stay consistent with you through both your calling and the hard truths that calling sometimes requires you to face.
"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. "
"Then he said to me, 'Human, look up towards the north.' So I looked up towards the north, and there, at the entrance near the altar gate, stood this image that provoked jealousy."
I ask you to actually look honestly at what's standing right at the entrance to the things you value most, rather than walking past it without really seeing it. Sometimes the most important thing to notice is right in plain sight, if you're willing to actually look.
"He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel commitheth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations. "
"He said to me, 'Human, do you see what they're doing — the outrageous things the people of Israel are committing here, that will drive me far away from my own sanctuary? But turn around, and you'll see even worse.'"
I don't withdraw from you casually or without cause — but I also want you to understand that persistent, unaddressed corruption in a relationship or community genuinely does erode presence and trust over time. Protecting what's sacred to you takes ongoing honesty, not one-off effort.
"And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. "
"He brought me to the entrance of the courtyard, and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall."
What people try hardest to hide often reveals the most about what they know is genuinely wrong — I want you to be honest enough with yourself that you don't need hidden compartments in your own life, places you'd be ashamed to have opened up and seen.
"Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. "
"He said to me, 'Human, dig into the wall.' So I dug into the wall, and there was a door."
Real understanding sometimes takes effort — I rarely hand you uncomfortable truths without you having to do some of the digging yourself. Be willing to put in that work rather than settling for whatever's easiest to see on the surface.
"And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. "
"He said to me, 'Go in, and see the wicked, disgusting things they're doing here.'"
I never ask you to look at hard truths without also inviting you through the door myself — you don't have to face uncomfortable discoveries about your life or your community entirely alone.
"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. "
"So I went in and looked, and there, carved all around the wall, were images of every kind of crawling creature, detestable animals, and all the idols worshipped by the people of Israel."
I want you to notice when you've started giving your deepest devotion to things far smaller than they deserve — status symbols, image, cheap substitutes for real connection. You were made for something bigger than that; don't settle for worshipping what's beneath you.
"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. "
"Standing in front of these images were seventy of Israel's elders, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them, each man holding his own incense burner, and a thick cloud of incense rising up."
Position and reputation don't guarantee integrity — I judge people by what they actually do in private, not by the respect they've earned publicly. Be as honest in the hidden rooms of your life as you are in front of others who admire you.
"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. "
"He said to me, 'Do you see what the elders of Israel are doing in the dark, each one in his own private shrine room? Because they're telling themselves, "The LORD doesn't see us; the LORD has abandoned the earth."'"
I see everything you do, including what happens when you're certain no one's watching — but I want you to know this not as a threat but as reassurance: you're never actually alone in the hidden rooms of your life, even the ones you're ashamed of. That presence can be a comfort, not just a warning.
"He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. "
"He said to me again, 'Turn around, and you'll see even more outrageous things than these.'"
Sometimes facing one hard truth reveals that there's more underneath it than you first realised — I don't want that discovery to overwhelm you, but I do want you willing to keep looking honestly rather than stopping at the first uncomfortable layer.
"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. "
"Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the LORD's house, and there, women were sitting and weeping for Tammuz."
Grief and ritual are powerful, meaningful things — I don't want you pouring that emotional energy into hollow substitutes borrowed from wherever seems fashionable, when there's something real and lasting worth genuinely investing your devotion in.
"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. "
"He said to me, 'Do you see this, human? Turn around again, and you'll see even more outrageous things than these.'"
I ask you to keep following the truth even when it's uncomfortable, right to wherever it actually leads — half-finished honesty often leaves the deepest issue unaddressed. Don't stop investigating just because you've already found something hard.
"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. "
"He brought me into the inner courtyard of the LORD's house, and there, at the entrance to the temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs turned to the LORD's temple and their faces turned east, bowing down to worship the rising sun."
Where you physically and mentally turn your attention says something real about where your devotion actually lies, even when your official position or location suggests otherwise. I want your attention pointed towards what's genuinely life-giving, not just habitually facing the right direction out of custom.
"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. "
"Then he said to me, 'Do you see this, human? Is it such a small thing to the people of Judah that they commit these outrageous acts here — filling the land with violence and repeatedly provoking me to anger? Look, they even put the branch to their own nose.'"
What you claim to worship and how you actually treat other people are never really separate matters — I judge the wholeness of a life, not just its stated beliefs. Make sure your everyday treatment of people matches whatever you say you value most.
"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. "
"So I too will respond with fury; I won't hold back, I won't show pity — and even when they cry out to me loudly, I won't listen."
I always want you to know that crying out honestly matters to me — but I also want you to hear this warning seriously: waiting until crisis to finally take something seriously is a genuine risk, not a guaranteed safety net. Don't save your honesty for the moment everything's already falling apart.