14 Then He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the Lord'S house which was toward the north ; and behold , women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz . 15 He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man ? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these ." 16 Then He brought me into the inner court of the Lord'S house . And behold , at the entrance to the temple of the Lord , between the porch and the altar , were about twenty-five e men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east ; and they were prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun . 17 He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man ? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here , that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly ? For behold , they are putting the twig to their nose . 18 "Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath . My eye will have no pity nor will I spare ; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice , yet I will not listen to them."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 8:14-18
Commentary on Ezekiel 8:13-18
(Read Ezekiel 8:13-18)
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 longer the believer searches himself, the more he will humble himself before God, and the more will he value the fountain open for sin, and seek to wash therein.