Ezekiel 8:17

Ezekiel 8:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually arouse my anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose!
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then he said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their nose.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose.

Context of Ezekiel 8:17

15He said to me, ‘Son of man, look at that! But you will see even worse things than these.’ 16Then the Lord took me to the inside yard of his temple. I could see about 25 men who were standing between the altar and the front of the temple. Their backs were turned towards the Lord's temple. Their faces looked towards the east. They were bending down low to worship the sun that was rising in the east! The Lord said to me, ‘Son of man, look at that! The people of Judah are doing these disgusting things here in my temple! That is a terrible thing! And they are also doing violent things everywhere in their land. They continue to make me angry all the time. Look at them! They insult me as much as they can! 18So now I will punish them in my great anger. I will not be sorry for them. I will not be kind to them. They may shout at me for help, but I will not listen to them.’

Ezekiel 8:17 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַי֮ הֲרָאִ֣יתָ בֶן־אָדָם֒ הֲנָקֵל֙ לְבֵ֣ית יְהוּדָ֔ה מֵעֲשׂ֕וֹת אֶת־הַתּוֹעֵב֖וֹת אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָֽשׂוּ־פֹ֑ה כִּֽי־מָלְא֨וּ אֶת־הָאָ֜רֶץ חָמָ֗ס וַיָּשֻׁ֙בוּ֙ לְהַכְעִיסֵ֔נִי וְהִנָּ֛ם שֹׁלְחִ֥ים אֶת־הַזְּמוֹרָ֖ה אֶל־אַפָּֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto me, Hast thou seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• O sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• Is it a light thingקָלַלqâlal · to lightenH7043
• to the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• of Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• that they commitעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• the abominationsתּוֹעֵבַהtô‛êbah tô‛êbah · abominationH8441
• here? for they have filledמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
• the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• with violenceחָמָסchâmâs · violenceH2555
• and have returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: againH7725
• to provoke me to angerכָּעַסka‛as · to provokeH3707
• and, lo, they putשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: reachH7971
• the branchזְמוֹרָהzemôrâh zemôrâh zemôr · branchH2156
• to their noseאַף'aph · face: noseH639

Cross-references for Ezekiel 8:17

• Ezekiel 7:23Prepare chains to tie my people. The whole land is full of murder and violence.
• Ezekiel 9:9He answered me, ‘The sins of the people of Israel and Judah are very great. They murder people everywhere in the land. In the city, nobody does what is right. They say, “The Lord has gone away from our land! The Lord does not see what we are doing!”
• Ezekiel 11:6You have killed many people in this city. The streets are full of the dead bodies of people that you have killed.”
• Genesis 6:13God said to Noah, ‘I will destroy everyone. That is what I have decided to do. Everywhere on the earth, people are attacking each other. Now I will destroy the people and also the earth.
• 2 Kings 21:16Also, Manasseh murdered many people who had not done anything wrong. Their blood was in all the streets of Jerusalem! He caused the people in Judah to do bad things too. He caused them to do things that the Lord said were evil.
• 2 Kings 24:4Manasseh had murdered people who had not done anything wrong. Their blood was in the streets of Jerusalem. The Lord would not agree to forgive Manasseh for his sins.
• Jeremiah 6:7They never stop doing wicked things, like water that pours out from a spring. It is full of the noise of violence and fights. Everywhere I see people who have disease and wounds.
• Jeremiah 19:4That will happen because Judah's people have turned away from me. They worship foreign gods in this place. They have offered sacrifices to those gods. They are gods that their ancestors did not know about. The kings of Judah never knew about them either. In this place, Judah's people have killed people who did not deserve to die.
• Jeremiah 20:8When I speak your message, I have to say, ‘Terrible trouble is coming!’ When I shout that message from the Lord, people laugh at me. They insult me.
• Amos 3:10The Lord says, ‘People have forgotten how to be honest. They rob people and they store valuable things in their big houses. They become rich because they are so cruel.’
• Amos 6:3You refuse to think that trouble might come to you. But the cruel things that you do are causing trouble to come very soon.
• Micah 2:2When they want fields, they take them from other people. When they want houses, they take them. These cruel people take other people's homes and fields; then those people's families have nothing.
• Micah 6:12You rich people in the city are very cruel. Everyone there says things that are not true. All of them speak false words.
• Zephaniah 1:9‘I will also punish the people who rush into other people's houses. They do that because they want to rob those people. On that same day, I will also punish other robbers. Those people fill their masters' houses with the things that they take.’

Commentaries on Ezekiel 8:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17They put the branch to their nose - This is supposed to mean some branch or branches, which they carried in succession in honor of the idol, and with which they covered their faces, or from which they inhaled a pleasant smell, the branches being odoriferous. That the heathens carried branches of trees in their sacred ceremonies is well known to all persons acquainted with classic antiquity; and it is probable that the heathen borrowed those from the use…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17“Violence” represents sin against man, “abominations” sins against God. These went hand in hand in Jerusalem. And have returned - After the reformation effected for a time by Josiah‘s zeal, they have gone back to their old state. They put the branch to their nose - An allusion to a then familiar practice, of which we find no clear traces elsewhere. Ezekiel is describing the attitude usual in such devotions, the branch held before the mouth, but wishing to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-18Verses 13-18 The yearly lamenting for Tammuz was attended with infamous practices; and the worshippers of the sun here described, are supposed to have been priests. The Lord appeals to the prophet concerning the heinousness of the crime; "and lo, they put the branch to their nose," denoting some custom used by idolaters in honour of the idols they served. The more we examine human nature and our own hearts, the more abominations we shall discover; and the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-18The abominations that the Israelites were committing in the temple complex were like openly insulting the Lord. The Hebrew expression literally says they were “putting the twig [or branch] to their nose.” This was likely a rude gesture. It showed defiance and disrespect. In other words, their actions were not only sinful. They were boldly rebellious against the Lord.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. put ... branch to ... nose--proverbial, for "they turn up the nose in scorn," expressing their insolent security [Septuagint]. Not content with outraging "with their violence" the second table of the law, namely, that of duty towards one's neighbor, "they have returned" (that is, they turn back afresh) to provoke Me by violations of the first table [Calvin]. Rather, they held up a branch or bundle of tamarisk (called barsom) to their nose at daybreak…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 8:17

• Idolatry

In the dictionaries

• Judah
• Judah, kingdom of Judah
• Judea, Judah
• Son of man
• Albeit
• Cloud
• Dig
• Hole
• Incense
• Living creatures

Commentaries on Ezekiel 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings