32:7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky;
I will darken its stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not shine. 1
8:16 Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there 2 at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, 3 were about twenty-five 4 men with their backs to the Lord’s temple, 5 facing east – they were worshiping the sun 6 toward the east!
1 tn Heb “will not shine its light.” For similar features of cosmic eschatology, see Joel 2:10; 4:15; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph 1:5.
2 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something.
3 sn The priests prayed to God between the porch and the altar on fast days (Joel 2:17). This is the location where Zechariah was murdered (Matt 23:35).
4 tc The LXX reads “twenty” instead of twenty-five, perhaps because of the association of the number twenty with the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash.
5 sn The temple faced east.
6 tn Or “the sun god.”