Ezekiel 8:14

Ezekiel 8:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and I saw women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.

Context of Ezekiel 8:14

12He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images? For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’” 13He said to me, “You will see them practicing even greater abominations!” Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house. I noticed women sitting there weeping for Tammuz. 15He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these!” 16Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Lord’s temple, facing east – they were worshiping the sun toward the east!

Ezekiel 8:14 word by word

וַיָּבֵ֣א אֹתִ֗י אֶל־פֶּ֙תַח֙ שַׁ֣עַר בֵּית־יְהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֶל־הַצָּפ֑וֹנָה וְהִנֵּה־שָׁם֙ הַנָּשִׁ֣ים יֹֽשְׁב֔וֹת מְבַכּ֖וֹת אֶת־הַתַּמּֽוּז׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then he broughtבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
• me to the doorפֶּ֫תַחpethach · entranceH6607
• of the gateשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• of the Lord’sיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
• toward the northצָפוֹןtsâphôn tsâphôn · northH6828
• and, behold, there satיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• womenאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• weepingבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
• for Tammuzתַּמּוּזtammûz · TammuzH8542

Cross-references for Ezekiel 8:14

• Ezekiel 44:4Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. As I watched, I noticed the glory of the Lord filling the Lord’s temple, and I threw myself face down.
• Ezekiel 46:9“‘When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship will go out by way of the south gate; whoever enters by way of the south gate will go out by way of the north gate. No one will return by way of the gate they entered but will go out straight ahead.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 8:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14There sat women weeping for Tammuz - This was Adonis, as we have already seen; and so the Vulgate here translates. My old MS. Bible reads, There saten women, mornynge a mawmete of lecherye that is cleped Adonrdes. He is fabled to have been a beautiful youth beloved by Venus, and killed by a wild boar in Mount Lebanon, whence springs the river Adonis, which was fabled to run blood at his festival in August. The women of Phoenicia, Assyria, and Judea…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14The seer is now brought back to the same gate as in Ezekiel 8:3. It is not certain that this verse refers to any special act of Tammuz-worship. The month in which the vision was seen, the sixth month (September), was not the month of the Tammuz-rites. But that such rites had been performed in Jerusalem there can be little doubt. Women are mentioned as employed in the service of idols in Jeremiah 7:18. There is some reason for believing that the weeping of…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. 14-15The third abomination was that women were weeping for the god Tammuz at the north gate of the Lord’s temple. Tammuz was a Babylonian god. He was also called Dumuzi. This ritual marked his death and descent into the underworld (the place of the dead). Each year, people believed that this god lost his power and later regained it. They connected this cycle to the yearly changes in nature, such as the dying and growing of crops. The women mourned for Tammuz…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. From the secret abominations of the chambers of imagery, the prophet's eye is turned to the outer court at the north door; within the outer court women were not admitted, but only to the door. sat--the attitude of mourners (Job 2:13; Is 3:26). Tammuz--from a Hebrew root, "to melt down." Instead of weeping for the national sins, they wept for the idol. Tammuz (the Syrian for Adonis), the paramour of Venus, and of the same name as the river flowing from…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 8:14

• Idolatry
• Tammuz
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Albeit
• Cloud
• Dig
• Hole
• Incense
• Living creatures
• Look
• Tammuz
• Asia Minor, Archaeology of
• Hadadrimmon

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