8:16 Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there 1 at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, 2 were about twenty-five 3 men with their backs to the Lord’s temple, 4 facing east – they were worshiping the sun 5 toward the east!
23:35 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have forgotten me and completely disregarded me, 6 you must bear now the punishment 7 for your obscene conduct and prostitution.”
1 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something.
2 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).
3 tc The LXX reads “twenty” instead of twenty-five, perhaps because of the association of the number twenty with the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash.
4 sn The temple faced east.
5 tn Or “the sun god.”
6 tn Heb “and you cast me behind your back.” The expression pictures her rejection of the Lord (see 1 Kgs 14:9).
7 tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text but is demanded by the context.