Ezekiel 8 10

Ezekiel 8:10 kjv

So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.

Ezekiel 8:10 nkjv

So I went in and saw, and there?every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls.

Ezekiel 8:10 niv

So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel.

Ezekiel 8:10 esv

So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel.

Ezekiel 8:10 nlt

So I went in and saw the walls covered with engravings of all kinds of crawling animals and detestable creatures. I also saw the various idols worshiped by the people of Israel.

Ezekiel 8 10 Cross References

VerseTextReference
Ezekiel 8:10"I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things and beasts...and all the idols of the house of Israel depicted on the wall all around."Ezekiel 8:10
Leviticus 11:44"For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean by any animal that crawls on the ground."God's command for holiness, rejecting uncleanness
Deuteronomy 7:25-26"The graven images of their gods you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it, for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. And you shall not bring an abomination into your house, lest you be an accursed thing like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing."Warning against idols and abominations in the home
Jeremiah 7:30"For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the LORD. They have set their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it."Idolatry in the Temple
Isaiah 2:8"Their land is also full of horses, and there is no end to their chariots; their land is also full of horses, and there is no end to their riders."Contrast with God's rule; military strength as idol
2 Kings 17:16"They forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves cast images, two calves, and an Asherah, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal."Worship of idols and celestial bodies
Psalm 106:35-36"But mingled with the peoples and learned their ways, and served their idols, which became a snare to them."Assimilation into pagan practices
Revelation 21:8"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."The ultimate fate of idolaters
1 Corinthians 10:14"Therefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry."Exhortation to flee idolatry
Romans 1:23"and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, and birds and animals and creeping things."Idolatry and its degradation
Hosea 4:13"They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn incense on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the harlot, and your brides commit adultery."Idolatry linked with moral corruption
Wisdom of Solomon 14:12"For the devising of idols was the beginning of the corruption of life, and the invention of them is a corruption of the marriage union."Idols as a source of corruption
1 Kings 14:24"and even committed grave offenses by allowing cult prostitution to spread throughout the land, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites."Idolatry and cultic prostitution
Judges 17:6"In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."Israel's spiritual anarchy and deviation
Galatians 5:19-21"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these, of which I warn you, just as I warned you, that those who do them will not inherit the kingdom of God."Works of the flesh, including idolatry
Philippians 3:19"Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things."Setting one's mind on earthly things as idolatry
1 John 5:21"Little children, keep yourselves from idols."A direct command to avoid idols
Deuteronomy 4:19"and lest you lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and then be unduly drawn to them and worship them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven."Warning against worshiping celestial bodies
Isaiah 44:17"And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol; he falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, 'Deliver me, for you are my god.'"The folly of idol worship
1 Samuel 15:23"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry."Equating stubbornness with idolatry

Ezekiel 8 verses

Ezekiel 8 10 Meaning

Ezekiel sees a disturbing vision of idolatry within the temple. This specific verse describes a scene where those present have depicted all manner of detestable things and unclean animals on the walls of the sacred chambers. These images represent the profound spiritual corruption and deviation from God's covenant that had taken root.

Ezekiel 8 10 Context

This verse appears in Ezekiel chapter 8, which details Ezekiel's visionary journey into the temple in Jerusalem. The preceding verses establish the scene: Ezekiel is transported by the Spirit to the inner court of the Lord's house, where he observes the extent of the nation's apostasy. The previous verses (8:7-9) describe Ezekiel being commanded to "dig through the wall," implying a hidden and illicit nature to the activities being observed. He sees an altar with a prominent idol, likely an Asherah pole or a representation of some foreign deity, which serves as a focal point for their detestable worship. This act of idolatry and the widespread presence of carved images of creeping things and animals signifies the complete corruption of the sacred space. The vision is set within the historical context of the Babylonian exile, explaining God's judgment upon Judah for their persistent disobedience and unfaithfulness to the covenant.

Ezekiel 8 10 Word Analysis

  • וְהִנֵּה (v'hinneh): "and behold." A conjunction (וְ - v' - and) combined with an exclamation or interjection (הִנֵּה - hinneh - behold, lo). It draws attention to a startling or significant discovery.

  • כָּל־תַּבְנִית (kol-tavnit): "every form," "every pattern," "every likeness." כָּל (kol) means "all" or "every." תַּבְנִית (tavnit) refers to a pattern, model, design, or likeness, often referring to carved or molded objects, suggesting manufactured representations.

  • שֶׁרֶץ (sherets): "creeping things," "swarming creatures." This refers to small animals that crawl or move along the ground, often considered unclean by Mosaic Law (Leviticus 11:29-30, 41-42). The inclusion of these images signifies the contamination of the holy place with that which God has declared unclean.

  • וְחַיָּה (v'chayah): "and beast," "and animal." וְ (v' - and) conjoined with חַיָּה (chayah - living being, beast, animal). This is a general term for animal life.

  • וּפְסִילִים (u'fseilim): "and idols." וּ (u' - and) conjoined with פְסִילִים (pseilim), the plural of פֶסֶל (pesel), which specifically denotes a graven image or idol, often carved from wood or stone, highlighting deliberate craftsmanship in idolatry.

  • סָבִיב (saviv): "all around." An adverb indicating the surrounding nature of the images on the walls.

  • כָּל־תַּעֲבֹת (kol-ta'avot): "all the abominations," "all the detestable things." כָּל (kol - all) coupled with תַּעֲבֹת (ta'avot), the plural of תּוֹעֵבָה (to'evah). This term denotes something detestable, loathsome, abhorrent, and particularly refers to practices or objects that are abominations in the sight of God, especially associated with idolatry and pagan rituals (Deuteronomy 12:31; 1 Kings 14:24).

  • בֵּית (beit): "house," "temple." Refers to the House of the LORD, the Temple in Jerusalem.

  • יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrael): "Israel." The covenant people of God.

  • חָקוּקֹת (chakukot): "depicted," "engraved," "carved." This participle form of the verb חָקַק (chakak) implies that these abominations were literally carved or engraved into the temple walls, indicating a pervasive and deeply ingrained presence of idolatrous imagery.

  • Analysis of "creeping things and beasts and all idols": The inclusion of these varied creatures and manufactured deities underscores the multifaceted nature of Israel's apostasy. It wasn't just one form of idolatry but a widespread embrace of pagan practices and symbolism, polluting the very sanctuary meant for pure worship. The creatures themselves, especially those considered unclean by the Law, represent the transgression of divine boundaries and the infiltration of defilement.

  • Analysis of "depicted on the wall all around": This phrase emphasizes the pervasive and comprehensive nature of the sin. The idols and abominations were not confined to a hidden corner but were openly displayed, covering all the walls, suggesting a public and unashamed abandonment of Yahweh in favor of other gods and their representations.

Ezekiel 8 10 Bonus Section

The use of "creeping things" and "beasts" (Hebrew: sherets and chayah) in this context is significant. In Leviticus 11, God gives strict dietary laws differentiating between clean and unclean animals. By depicting these unclean creatures on the temple walls, the people of Israel were symbolically bringing the impurity and defilement of the gentile nations into the holy sanctuary. This desecration mirrors the practice of nations who worshiped animals or employed animal imagery in their pagan cults. The deliberate engraving ("chakukot") suggests a deliberate artistry applied to this act of rebellion, emphasizing the conscious choice to embrace what God abhorred. This visual pollution of the Temple stands in stark contrast to the pure worship expected by God.

Ezekiel 8 10 Commentary

Ezekiel witnesses a shocking scene of utter spiritual corruption within the very house of God. The walls, intended to be adorned with reminders of God's faithfulness, are instead covered with carvings of repulsive creatures and idols of foreign gods. This demonstrates a deliberate and extensive rejection of God and His commands. The "creeping things" and "beasts" refer to animals that were deemed unclean under Mosaic Law, symbolizing the defilement of the sacred space by things that should have been kept out. The "idols" explicitly point to the worship of other gods. The fact that these are "depicted on the wall all around" signifies that idolatry was not an isolated incident but a pervasive and all-encompassing practice within Jerusalem and the Temple, indicating a complete perversion of worship and covenant faithfulness. This vision foreshadows the destruction of the Temple and the exile as God's judgment for such profound disobedience.