Bible Strands
Ezekiel 8:17
“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look, they are even putting the branch to their nose!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Ezekiel as “Son of man” immediately after leading him to the inner temple court to witness twenty-five men bowing toward the east. The speaker confronts the prophet with a direct question about the escalating idolatry unfolding at the altar.
The words — The phrase הֲ/נָקֵל (ha./na.Kel) translates literally to “is it trifling” or “is it not enough,” framing Judah’s idolatry as an escalating burden rather than an isolated incident. God’s rhetorical question emphasizes that the land’s violence and continual provocation have reached a breaking point.
The thread — The motif of violence filling the land appears in Ezekiel 9:9, Ezekiel 7:23, and Jeremiah 6:7, where the same phrase underscores national guilt preceding judgment. Each reference links widespread bloodshed and rebellion to imminent divine reckoning.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that repeated idolatry and systemic violence are not tolerated by God, regardless of religious location or ritual. Readers must acknowledge that divine patience has limits when provocation becomes continuous and public.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 9:9 He replied, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of perversity. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see.’
- Ezekiel 7:23 Forge the chain, for the land is full of crimes of bloodshed, and the city is full of violence.
- Jeremiah 6:7 As a well gushes its water, so she pours out her evil. Violence and destruction resound in her; sickness and wounds are ever before Me.
- Micah 2:2 They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.
- Zephaniah 1:9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, who fill the house of their master with violence and deceit.
- Genesis 6:13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.
- 2 Kings 21:16 Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.
- 2 Kings 24:4 and also for the innocent blood he had shed. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to forgive.
- Jeremiah 7:18 The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger.
- Jeremiah 19:4 because they have abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in this place to other gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have ever known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.