Ezekiel 8:17

8:17 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose! ¹ 

Ezekiel 40:4

40:4 The man said to me, “Son of man, watch closely, listen carefully, and pay attention ²  to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I can show it to you. ³  Tell the house of Israel everything you see.”

[8:17]  ¹ tn It is not clear what the practice of “holding a branch to the nose” indicates. A possible parallel is the Syrian relief of a king holding a flower to his nose as he worships the stars (ANEP 281). See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 1:145-46. The LXX glosses the expression as “Behold, they are like mockers.”

[40:4]  ² tn Heb “look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and set your mind on.”

[40:4]  ³ tn Heb “in order to show (it) to you.”