Ezekiel 8:6

Eze 8:6 He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? [even] the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, [and] thou shalt see greater abominations.

Ver. 6. That I should go far from my sanctuary.] Which is now become omnium turpitudinum arx (as was once said of Pompey’s great theatre at Rome), a receptacle of all roguery, et impiae gentis arcanum, as afterward Florus unworthily called it.

And thou shalt see greater abominations.] All sins are not equally sinful then, as the Stoics affirmed, but there are degrees of abominations. See Deu 32:5. {See Trapp on "Deu 32:5"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For God will not be where idols are.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

that I should go far off from my sanctuary--"that I should (be compelled by their sin to) go far off from my sanctuary"-- (Eze 10:18); the sure precursor of its destruction.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Now God complains with his Prophet; and we must always mark the object and consider God’s design, because at the end of the chapter we shall see how severe a vengeance God was about to take on the people. Hence the Prophet prevents those obstreperous reproaches with which the people loaded him through envy, when he chastised them according to their deserts. Hence he doubtless wished the exiles to be persuaded of what they could scarcely conceive, namely, that the destruction of Jerusalem was near. For we have said that those who had been drawn into captivity had displeased him, and wished to return to their country. Since therefore their condition was too grievous and severe, for this reason God wished to testify to them that the last overthrow of Jerusalem was at hand. He does this while he shows the great abominations which reigned in the very temple, whence the Almighty must of necessity appear as the avenger of his glory and worship. The rest to-morrow.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(6) That I should go far off from my sanctuary.—In the original this is simply an infinitive, without any subject expressed, “for the removing far off,” and may therefore be understood either of the removing of the people or of the Divine abandonment of the sanctuary. The latter sense, however, which is that given in the Authorised Version, is more probable and more in accordance with the whole teaching of the vision. There was a strong feeling among the people that they were safe at Jerusalem; God, Whom they still regarded, notwithstanding their idolatries, as a powerful national God, would certainly protect His temple. It is the office of the prophet to show that, the transgressions of the people led, as their natural consequence, to his giving over the city to desolation. The “great abominations” spoken of are the constant refrain of this chapter (Eze_8:9; Eze_8:13; Eze_8:15; Eze_8:17). The people’s own acts make necessary the judgments impending over them. Still worse is in store.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. I should go far off] i.e. withdraw. These abominations defiled Jehovah’s sanctuary, the place of his abode, causing him to abandon it. His withdrawal is symbolized ch. Eze_11:1; Eze_11:22-23.

turn thee … again … see] Rather: thou shalt again see greater abominations; so Eze_8:13; Eze_8:15.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He said furthermore unto me, son of man,.... He continued his speech to the prophet, saying

seest thou what they do? the idolatrous Jews, who had set up a graven image at the northern gate of the court, where the altar was, and were sacrificing to it:

even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here; for to set up an idol where he was, and an altar by his altar, and to sacrifice to Baal, and not to him, or to Baal along with him, or besides him, or to any other idol, were very abominable to the Lord: even to such a degree,

that I should go far from my sanctuary? be obliged to leave it, not being able to bear such abominable idolatries: or, "that they should go far from my sanctuary" (u); depart from the true worship and service of it, and fall into idolatry:

but turn thee yet again; from the north to the south it may be; however, to some other part of the temple:

and thou shalt see greater abominations; or, "great abominations" (w); for there is no necessity of rendering it "greater": but the meaning is, that he should see other great abominations besides what he had seen, than which there could not be anything well greater.

(u) "ut longius recedant, vel abeant, sub. Israelitae a sauctuario meo", Vatablus; and to this sense are the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions; "ad longe recedendum", Cocceius. (w) "abominationes magnas", Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin, Piscator, Cocceius. Starckius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Seest thou? dost thou observe?

What they do; the inhabitants, the generality of the Jews.

The great abominations; the notorious idolatries.

Here; in this court, in view of my temple, and where all that come, as most did, this way to worship me see it, so shameless is it!

That I should go; not that they designed this, but eventually it was so, and in all reason could be no otherwise expected.

From my sanctuary; that I chose, but am not confined to. That I shall leave not by local distance, but by rejecting and casting it off, and laying it desolate.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. Turn thee yet again, and thou shall see greater abominations — Or, thou shalt see again greater abominations. The gradation of crime indicated here is a help in determining the location and nature of the worship now to be described. The increased desecration is seen, if our exegesis is correct, first, in the place where the worship is offered; second, in the character of the worshipers; and, third, in the nature of the worship. The image was set up “at the gate” (of the outer court, Eze_8:5); the “chambers of imagery” were in the gate, or in an adjoining chamber at the very entrance to the inner court; the women “weeping for Tammuz” were at “the door of the gate of the Lord’s house,” which we suppose to be a special title designating the door of the holy place, just as the priests’ court seems to be called “the court of the Lord’s house” (Jer_19:14; Jer_26:2). The sun worshipers were “at the door of the temple of the Lord,” which evidently locates them on the steps of the court leading to the holy of holies; for it is distinctly stated, as if to increase the enormity of the offense, that they were “between the porch and the altar” (Eze_8:16), and the Mishna also declares that this particular space was especially holy (Chelim, 1-9). The priests would naturally speak of the priests’ court as the court, and of the gate of the inner court as the gate (2Ch_20:5; Jer_19:14; Jer_26:2, and Ezekiel passim). The character of the worshipers and the kind of worship, if our explanation is correct, show a growth in shamelessness: elders (Eze_8:11), women prostitutes (Eze_8:14, compare Deu_23:17); men prostitutes (Eze_8:16); the Egyptian Mysteries (Eze_8:10); the Tammuz Festival (Eze_8:14); the worship of the sun with special reference to its fructifying influence (Eze_8:16-17).

That I should go far off from my sanctuary — These abominations drive Jehovah from his temple. Jerusalem and the temple have always been called sacred to Jehovah, and the comrades of Ezekiel in exile thought it blasphemy for anyone to suggest that the temple could be captured and profaned by the heathen; but in the vision it is made plain that the temple is already profaned. The elders, the common people, and even the priests — the chief ministers of the temple — have already brought into it the worst forms of heathen worship. It is already polluted. The Chaldean army can do no worse. Let the siege begin! It is Jehovah’s temple no longer, and he will no longer protect it. This is a syncretism which even the heathen have not been guilty of (Jer_2:10).

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That I should go far off, etc. The lesson taught was that already implied in the fact that the glorious vision and come to him from the north. (Eze_1:4) The temple was already as a God-deserted shrine. His return to it now was but the coming of the Judge and the Destroyer. We are reminded of the Metabainwmen enteuqen, ("Let us depart hence"), which was heard in the darkness of the night before the later destruction of Jerusalem (Josephus, "Bell. Jud:" 6:5:3) Bad begins, but worse remains behind. The prophet is led onward as through the successive stages of an inferno of idolatries.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They - The generality of the Jews. Great abominations - The notorious idolatries. Here - In this court, in view of my temple. Far off - Not that they designed this, but no other could be expected.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

to cause Me to distance Myself from My sanctuary In order that I distance Myself from My sanctuary.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.