Yehezkiel 8:5-6

8:5 He said to me, “Son of man, look up toward ¹  the north.” So I looked up toward the north, and I noticed to the north of the altar gate was this statue of jealousy at the entrance.

8:6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing – the great abominations that the people ²  of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!”

Yehezkiel 8:16

8:16 Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there ³  at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, ⁴  were about twenty-five ⁵  men with their backs to the Lord’s temple, ⁶  facing east – they were worshiping the sun ⁷  toward the east!

[8:5]  ¹ tn Heb “lift your eyes (to) the way of.”

[8:6]  ² tn Heb “house.”

[8:16]  ³ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something.

[8:16]  ⁴ sn The priests prayed to God between the porch and the altar on fast days (Joel 2:17). This is the location where Zechariah was murdered (Matt 23:35).

[8:16]  ⁵ tc The LXX reads “twenty” instead of twenty-five, perhaps because of the association of the number twenty with the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash.

[8:16]  tn Or “exactly twenty-five.”

[8:16]  ⁶ sn The temple faced east.

[8:16]  ⁷ tn Or “the sun god.”

[8:16]  sn The worship of astral entities may have begun during the reign of Manasseh (2 Kgs 21:5).