Ezekiel 8:16

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!

Ezekiel 40:44

40:44 On the outside of the inner gate were chambers for the singers of the inner court, one ⁶  at the side of the north gate facing south, and the other at the side of the south ⁷  gate facing north.

[8:16]  ¹ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something.

[8:16]  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).

[8:16]  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.

[8:16]  ⁴ sn The temple faced east.

[8:16]  ⁵ tn Or “the sun god.”

[40:44]  ⁶ tn “One” is not in the Hebrew text but is supplied for clarity in the translation.

[40:44]  ⁷ tc This reading is supported by the LXX; the MT reads “east.”