So I went in and saw the walls covered with engravings of all kinds of crawling animals and detestable creatures. I also saw the various idols worshiped by the people of Israel.
Parallel translations
- WEB So I went in and looked, and saw every form of creeping things, abominable animals, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed around on the wall.
- KJV So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.
- BSB So I went in and looked, and engraved all around the wall was every kind of crawling creature and detestable beast, along with all the idols of the house of Israel.
- NKJV So I went in and saw, and there—every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls.
- NASB So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of crawling things and animals and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ezekiel sees the walls covered with images of creeping things, unclean animals, and idols. It reveals widespread, animal-cult idolatry among Israel's leaders.
Overview
The carved figures of unclean creatures recall the false worship of surrounding nations, perhaps Egyptian-style cults. That such images filled God's temple shows how far the people had fallen from the second commandment. Worshiping created things rather than the Creator is the essence of idolatry. The gospel reverses this by turning hearts back to worship the true and living God revealed in Jesus.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Exod 20:4“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
- Rom 1:23and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things.
- Jer 16:18First I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable things, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”
- Deut 4:18the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth;
- Isa 57:6–10Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they are your lot. You have even poured a drink offering to them. You have offered an offering. Shall I be appeased for these things?
- Deut 14:7–8Nevertheless these you shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of those who have the hoof cloven: the camel, the hare, and the rabbit. Because they chew the cud but don’t part the hoof, they are unclean to you.
- Jer 3:9Because she took her prostitution lightly, the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with wood.
- Lev 11:29–31“‘These are they which are unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard,
- Jer 2:26–27As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets;
- Deut 14:3You shall not eat any abominable thing.
- Lev 11:42–44Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, even all creeping things that creep on the earth, them you shall not eat; for they are an abomination.
- Lev 11:10–12All that don’t have fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are an abomination to you,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 8:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.