Ezekiel 8:16

Easy To Read Version

Then he led me to the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple. At that place, I saw 25 men bowing down and worshiping. They were between the porch and the altar—but they were facing the wrong way! Their backs were to the Holy Place. They were bowing down to worship the sun!

Cross References

1 Kings 8:29

In the past you said, ‘I will be honored there.’ So please watch this temple night and day. Please listen to the prayer that I pray to you at this temple.

2 Kings 16:14

Ahaz took the bronze altar that was before the Lord from the front of the temple. [193] This bronze altar was between Ahaz’s altar [194] and the temple of the Lord. Ahaz put the bronze altar on the north side of his own altar.

2 Kings 21:5

Manasseh built altars for the stars of heaven in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple.

2 Kings 23:11

In the past, the kings of Judah had put some horses and a chariot [290] near the entrance to the Lord’s temple. This was near the room of an important official named Nathan Melech. The horses and chariot were to honor the sun god. [291] Josiah removed the horses and burned the chariot.

2 Kings 23:5

The kings of Judah had chosen some ordinary men to serve as priests. {These men were not from the family of Aaron!} Those false priests were burning incense [280] at the high places [281] in every city of Judah and all the towns around Jerusalem. They burned incense to honor Baal, [282] the sun, the moon, the constellations (groups of stars), and all the stars in the sky. But Josiah stopped those false priests.

2 Chronicles 29:6

Our ancestors left the Lord and turned their faces away from the Lord’s house. {\cf2\super [336]}

2 Chronicles 7:7

Solomon made the middle part of the yard holy. That yard is in front of the Lord’s temple. {\cf2\super [124]} That is the place where Solomon offered burnt offerings {\cf2\super [125]} and the fat of the fellowship offerings. Solomon used the middle of the yard because the bronze altar {\cf2\super [126]} he made could not hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and fat. There were many of those offerings.

Jeremiah 2:27

Those people talk to pieces of wood!\par They say, ‘You are my father.’\par Those people speak to a rock.\par They say, ‘You gave birth to me.’\par All those people will be ashamed.\par Those people don’t look at me.\par They have turned their backs to me.\par But when the people of Judah\par get into trouble, they say to me,\par ‘Come and save us!’\par

Jeremiah 32:33

“Those people should have come to me for help. But they turned their backs to me. I tried to teach those people again and again. But they would not listen to me. I tried to correct them, but they would not listen.

Jeremiah 44:17

We promised to make sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven. {\cf2\super [357]} And we will do everything we promised. We will offer sacrifices and pour out drink offerings in worship to her. We did that in the past. And our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did that in the past. All of us did those things in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At the time we worshiped the Queen of Heaven, we had plenty of food. We were successful. Nothing bad happened to us.

Jeremiah 7:18

This is what the people of Judah are doing: The children gather wood. The fathers use the wood to make a fire. The women make the dough and make cakes of bread to offer to the Queen of Heaven. {\cf2\super [62]} Those people of Judah pour out drink offerings to worship other gods. They do this to make me angry.

Jeremiah 8:2

Those men will spread those bones on the ground under the sun, the moon, and the stars. The people of Jerusalem love to worship the sun, the moon, and the stars. No person will gather those bones and bury them again. So, the bones of those people will be like dung thrown on the ground.

Ezekiel 10:3

The Cherub angels {\cf2\super [82]} were standing in the area south {\cf2\super [83]} of the temple as the man walked to them. The cloud filled the inner courtyard.

Ezekiel 11:1

Then the wind {\cf2\super [94]} carried me to the East Gate of the Lord’s temple. This gate faces the east, \{where the sun comes up\}. I saw 25 men there at the entrance of this gate. Jaazaniah son of Azzur was with those men. And Pelatiah son of Benaiah was there. Pelatiah was the leader of the people.

Ezekiel 23:35

“So, the Lord my Master said these things, ‘\{Jerusalem,\} you forgot me. You threw me away and left me behind. So now you must suffer for leaving me and living like a prostitute. {\cf2\super [190]} You must suffer for your wicked dreams.’”

Ezekiel 23:39

They killed their children for their idols, {\cf2\super [193]} and then they went into my holy place and made it filthy too! They did this inside my temple! {\cf2\super [194]}

Ezekiel 40:28

Then the man led me through the south gate into the inner courtyard. He measured this gate. This gateway measured the same as the other gates to the inner courtyard.

Ezekiel 40:6

Then the man went to the east gate. The man walked up its steps and measured the opening for the gate. It was one ruler {\cf2\super [314]} wide.

Ezekiel 43:5

Then the Spirit {\cf2\super [397]} picked me up and brought me into the inner courtyard. The Glory of the Lord filled the temple.

Ezekiel 43:8

They won’t bring shame to my name by putting their threshold next to my threshold, and their door post next to my door post. In the past, only a wall separated them from me. So they brought shame to my name every time they sinned and did those terrible things. That is why I became angry and destroyed them.

Ezekiel 45:19

The priest will take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, {\cf2\super [440]} and on the posts of the gate to the inner courtyard.

Ezekiel 46:1

The Lord my Master says these things, “The east gate of the inner courtyard will be closed on the six working days. But it will be opened on the Sabbath {\cf2\super [445]} day and on the day of the New Moon.

Ezekiel 7:23

“Make chains \{for the prisoners\}! Why? Because many people will be punished for killing other people. There will be violence every place in the city.

Ezekiel 8:15

\{God\} said to me, “Son of man, {\cf2\super [69]} do you see these terrible things? Come with me and you will see things that are even worse than this!”

Joel 2:17

Let the priests, the Lord’s servants,\par cry between the porch {\cf2\super [15]} and the altar. {\cf2\super [16]} \par All of those people should say these things:\par “Lord, have mercy on your people.\par Don’t let your people be put to shame.\par Don’t let other people tell jokes\par about your people.\par Don’t let people in other nations\par \{laugh at us and\} say,\par ‘Where is their God?’”\par

Deuteronomy 17:3

that they have worshiped other gods. Or maybe that they have worshiped the sun, the moon or the stars. That is against the Lord’s command that I gave you.

Deuteronomy 4:19

And be careful when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon, and the stars—all the many things in the sky. Be careful that you are not tempted to worship and serve those things. The Lord your God lets the other people in the world do those things.