And he said to me: God addresses Ezekiel again, which Contemporary English Version makes clear by saying “God then said.”
For Son of man, see Ezek 8.5.
Do you see what they are doing…?: This is a rhetorical question. God is not asking Ezekiel if he sees what the people are doing, but is pointing out to him what they are doing. Therefore this question may be better translated as an exclamation that draws Ezekiel’s attention to the false worship and wicked deeds of the Israelites. One model that does this is “Look at what they are doing!”
The great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here: God describes their idolatry as great abominations (see 5.9), which may be rendered “terrible sins” (Contemporary English Version), “many hateful things” (New Century Version), or “shocking rites.” Perhaps the worst thing about these disgusting things was that the people were doing them here, that is, near God’s Temple.
To drive me far from my sanctuary renders the Hebrew clause here as the result of the idolatry. This is the way almost all modern translations understand this clause; for example, Good News Translation says “driving me farther and farther away from my holy place.” It was not the purpose or intention of the people to drive God away, but rather the result of their actions. A model that expresses this clearly is “These terrible things make me go farther and farther away from my holy place.” This interpretation fits well in these chapters that describe how God first leaves the Temple and then the city, but it puts a strain on the Hebrew, which is literally “to be [or, go] far away from my sanctuary.” The subject of the verb is not stated, so it is not clear who will be or go far away. It could be God (so King James Version, which has “that I should go far off from my sanctuary”), or it could be the people who are the subject of the previous clause. The latter understanding is more likely, and the meaning is that part of the wickedness of the people was that they went away from God’s holy place and set up the idol of Asherah outside the north gate where they were now worshiping. Following this interpretation, translators may render the whole rhetorical question as “Mortal man, look at the terrible things the people of Israel are doing here as they go farther and farther away from my holy place.”
But you will see still greater abominations may be rendered “You will see things even more terrible than this.” Thus far in the vision, Ezekiel had seen the statue of the false goddess and possibly some people worshiping it. God described these as great abominations, but what Ezekiel saw next was even worse.
Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .