Eze 8:16 | NETfull | STEP | Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord ’s house. Right there at the entrance to the Lord ’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Lord ’s temple, facing east – they were worshiping the sun toward the east!

Ezekiel 8:16

16 Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there ^{▼▼ The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something.} at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, ^{▼▼ 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).} were about twenty-five ^{▼▼ The LXX reads “twenty” instead of twenty-five, perhaps because of the association of the number twenty with the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash.} ^{▼▼ Or “exactly twenty-five.”} men with their backs to the Lord’s temple, ^{▼▼ The temple faced east.} facing east – they were worshiping the sun ^{▼▼ Or “the sun god.”} ^{▼▼ The worship of astral entities may have begun during the reign of Manasseh (2 Kgs 21:5).} toward the east!