וַיְהִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשִּׁשִּׁית בַּשִּׁשִּׁי בַּחֲמִשָּׁה לַחֹדֶשׁ אֲנִי יוֹשֵׁב בְּבֵיתִי וְזִקְנֵי יְהוּדָה יוֹשְׁבִים לְפָנָי וַתִּפֹּל עָלַי שָׁם יַד ה' אֱלוֹהִים

It was in the sixth year of the exile of Yehoyakhin, in the sixth month, Elul, on the fifth of the month; I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah, who were exiled together with Yehoyakhin, were sitting before me. It may be inferred from the verse that Ezekiel was the leading sage of his generation, as despite the peculiar nature of his conduct, the elders of Judah continued to consult him. And the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. A spirit of prophecy suddenly fell upon Ezekiel while he was sitting with the elders.

וָאֶרְאֶה וְהִנֵּה דְמוּת כְּמַרְאֵה־אֵשׁ מִמַּרְאֵה מָתְנָיו וּלְמַטָּה אֵשׁ וּמִמָּתְנָיו וּלְמַעְלָה כְּמַרְאֵה־זֹהַר כְּעֵין הַחַשְׁמַלָה

I saw, and behold, there was a likeness like the appearance of fire: From the appearance of its waist and downward, fire, and from its waist and upward, like the appearance of radiance, like the appearance of the ḥashmal. Here the word ḥashmal appears with an additional heh, ḥashmala. As stated earlier (commentary on 1:4), the precise definition of ḥashmal is unknown. According to the Septuagint, it refers to a particular color, although it may refer to some other phenomenon.

וַיִּשְׁלַח תַּבְנִית יָד וַיִּקָּחֵנִי בְּצִיצִת רֹאשִׁי וַתִּשָּׂא אֹתִי רוּחַ בֵּין־הָאָרֶץ וּבֵין הַשָּׁמַיִם וַתָּבֵא אֹתִי יְרוּשָׁלַמָה בְּמַרְאוֹת אֱלֹהִים אֶל פֶּתַח שַׁעַר הַפְּנִימִית הַפּוֹנֶה צָפוֹנָה אֲשֶׁר־שָׁם מוֹשַׁב סֵמֶל הַקִּנְאָה הַמַּקְנֶה

It, the likeness, extended the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of hair on my head. Whether or not he was a nazirite, Ezekiel had long hair. And a wind lifted me between the earth and the heavens and brought me to Jerusalem in the visions of God. Ezekiel was taken to Jerusalem in a vision, not physically. Ezekiel continues: The spirit carried me to the Temple in Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gate of the inner courtyard that faces northward, where there was the seat of the infuriating image, an idolatrous object of infuriation, which angers God.

וְהִנֵּה־שָׁם כְּבוֹד אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּמַּרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר רָאִיתִי בַּבִּקְעָה

Behold, I saw that the glory of the God of Israel was there, in the inner courtyard, like the vision that I saw in the valley. This was a vision identical to the one that Ezekiel witnessed when he was by the Kevar River (see 1:1, 3:23). In that vision, which would recur to Ezekiel numerous times, God revealed Himself to Ezekiel borne in a type of chariot.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי בֶּן־אָדָם שָׂא־נָא עֵינֶיךָ דֶּרֶךְ צָפוֹנָה וָאֶשָּׂא עֵינַי דֶּרֶךְ צָפוֹנָה וְהִנֵּה מִצָּפוֹן לְשַׁעַר הַמִּזְבֵּחַ סֵמֶל הַקִּנְאָה הַזֶּה בַּבִּאָה

He said to me: Son of man, raise your eyes now to the way northward. I raised my eyes to the way northward, and behold, north of the gate of the altar was this image of infuriation situated in the entrance.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי בֶּן־אָדָם הֲרֹאֶה אַתָּה מָה הֵם עֹשִׂים תּוֹעֵבוֹת גְּדֹלוֹת אֲשֶׁר בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל עֹשִׂים פֹּה לְרָחֳקָה מֵעַל מִקְדָּשִׁי וְעוֹד תָּשׁוּב תִּרְאֶה תּוֹעֵבוֹת גְּדֹלוֹת

He said to me: Son of man, do you see what they are doing, great abominations of idol worship that the house of Israel is performing here to distance Me from My Sanctuary? And you will yet again see great abominations.

וַיָּבֵא אֹתִי אֶל־פֶּתַח הֶחָצֵר וָאֶרְאֶה וְהִנֵּה חֹר־אֶחָד בַּקִּיר

Ezekiel, who was taken to Jerusalem in this vision, traversed it with a vantage point unattainable for another person: He brought me to the entrance of the courtyard, and I looked, and behold, a single hole was in the wall.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי בֶּן־אָדָם חֲתָר נָא בַקִּיר וָאֶחְתֹּר בַּקִּיר וְהִנֵּה פֶּתַח אֶחָד

He said to me: Son of man, burrow now into the hole in the wall, and I burrowed into the wall and behold, there was a single entrance.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָי בֹּא וּרְאֵה אֶת־הַתּוֹעֵבוֹת הָרָעוֹת אֲשֶׁר הֵם עֹשִׂים פֹּה

He said to me: Come and see the evil abominations that they are performing here in a manner even more flagrant than the placement of an idolatrous image in the Temple.

וָאָבוֹא וָאֶרְאֶה וְהִנֵּה כָל־תַּבְנִית רֶמֶשׂ וּבְהֵמָה שֶׁקֶץ וְכָל־גִּלּוּלֵי בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל מְחֻקֶּה עַל־הַקִּיר סָבִיב סָבִיב

I came, in my vision, entering an inner chamber of sorts in the Temple, and I saw, and behold, every form of crawling creature and animal, detestable things, and all the idols of the house of Israel, were engraved on the wall all around. The entire room was decorated with symbols of idols and animal forms used in idolatrous rituals.

וְשִׁבְעִים אִישׁ מִזִּקְנֵי בֵית־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיַאֲזַנְיָהוּ בֶן־שָׁפָן עֹמֵד בְּתוֹכָם עֹמְדִים לִפְנֵיהֶם וְאִישׁ מִקְטַרְתּוֹ בְּיָדוֹ וַעֲתַר עֲנַן־הַקְּטֹרֶת עֹלֶה

And there were seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, a body of seventy elders that comprised a select leadership group of sages since the days of Moses, and Yaazanyahu son of Shafan, an esteemed individual from a family known for its good relations with the prophets, was standing in their midst. The elders were standing before them, the idols, each with his incense pan in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense was rising.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי הֲרָאִיתָ בֶן־אָדָם אֲשֶׁר זִקְנֵי בֵית־יִשְׂרָאֵל עֹשִׂים בַּחשֶׁךְ אִישׁ בְּחַדְרֵי מַשְׂכִּיתוֹ! כִּי אֹמְרִים אֵין ה' רֹאֶה אֹתָנוּ עָזַב ה' אֶת־הָאָרֶץ

He said to me: Have you seen, Son of man, that which the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his ornamented rooms, as they say: The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land. Despite the efforts of the elders to conceal their deeds, God exposed them before the prophet, who publicized those deeds.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָי עוֹד תָּשׁוּב תִּרְאֶה תּוֹעֵבוֹת גְּדֹלוֹת אֲשֶׁר־הֵמָּה עֹשִׂים

He said to me: The prophetic visit has not ended. You will yet again see great abominations that they perform.

וַיָּבֵא אֹתִי אֶל־פֶּתַח שַׁעַר בֵּית־ה' אֲשֶׁר אֶל־הַצָּפוֹנָה וְהִנֵּה־שָׁם הַנָּשִׁים יֹשְׁבוֹת מְבַכּוֹת אֶת הַתַּמּוּז

He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the House of the Lord, which was toward the north, and behold, the women were sitting, and weeping and mourning for Tamuz, a pagan deity worshipped by the Babylonians. The women practiced a form of worship based on the concept that the deity experienced cycles of death and resurrection. The women therefore cried over the demise of this idol; later, they would celebrate its resurrection. Many ancient cultures, including those of ancient Egypt and Greece, incorporated the worship of a deity that died and was subsequently resurrected.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי הֲרָאִיתָ בֶן־אָדָם עוֹד תָּשׁוּב תִּרְאֶה תּוֹעֵבוֹת גְּדֹלוֹת מֵאֵלֶּה

He said to me: Did you see, Son of man? You will yet again see abominations greater than these.

וַיָּבֵא אֹתִי אֶל־חֲצַר בֵּית־ה' הַפְּנִימִית וְהִנֵּה פֶתַח הֵיכַל ה'בֵּין הָאוּלָם וּבֵין הַמִּזְבֵּחַ כְּעֶשְׂרִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה אִישׁ אֲחֹרֵיהֶם אֶל־הֵיכַל ה' וּפְנֵיהֶם קֵדְמָה וְהֵמָּה מִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶם קֵדְמָה לַשָּׁמֶשׁ

He brought me to the inner courtyard of the House of the Lord, adjacent to the Temple, and behold, at the entrance of the Sanctuary of the Lord, between the Hall of the Sanctuary and the altar, were some twenty-five men, their backs to the Sanctuary of the Lord and their faces eastward, and they were prostrating themselves eastward to the sun. As in the Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies in the Temple was situated on the western side of the Sanctuary, opposite the rising sun. The men described by Ezekiel were standing next to the entrance of the Sanctuary but were bowing in the direction of the sun, away from the Sanctuary.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי הֲרָאִיתָ בֶן־אָדָם! הֲנָקֵל לְבֵית יְהוּדָה מֵעֲשׂוֹת אֶת־הַתּוֹעֵבוֹת אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ־פֹה! כִּי־מָלְאוּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ חָמָס וַיָּשֻׁבוּ לְהַכְעִיסֵנִי וְהִנָּם שֹׁלְחִים אֶת־הַזְּמוֹרָה אֶל־אַפָּם

He said to me: Did you see, Son of man? Is it insignificant for the house of Judah that they performed the abominations that they performed here? For they filled the land with corruption, and they even returned to anger Me, and behold, they send the branch to their nose. The ancient Persian sun worshippers would hold a bundle of twigs of the barsom plant when they worshipped. Alternatively, the verse may allude to the fragrance of incense, or it may be a euphemism for repulsive matters, e.g., the emission of flatulence. This may be a factual description of a form of idol worship that was practiced in the Temple, or it may be a derogatory epithet.

וְגַם־אֲנִי אֶעֱשֶׂה בְחֵמָה; לֹא־תָחוֹס עֵינִי; ולֹא אֶחְמֹל וְקָרְאוּ בְאָזְנַי קוֹל גָּדוֹל וְלֹא אֶשְׁמַע אוֹתָם

I too will act as they have: They angered Me, so I too will act in fury. Since they claimed that I cannot see their deeds, My eye will not pity. And since they claimed that I have forsaken them, I will not have compassion, and they will cry in My ears with a loud voice when calamity befalls them, but I will not hear them.