Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 8:17

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 8:17. They put the branch to their nose. — This is supposed to mean some branch or branches, which they carried in succession in honour of the idol, and with which they covered their faces, or from which they inhaled a pleasant smell, the branches being odoriferous. That the heathens carried branches of trees in their sacred ceremonies is well known to all persons acquainted with classic antiquity; and it is probable that the heathen borrowed those from the use of such branches in the Jewish feast of tabernacles. There are many strange, and some filthy, interpretations given of this clause; but the former are not worth repeating, and I abominate the latter too much to submit to defile my paper with them. Probably the Brahminic Linga is here intended.

It really seems that at this time the Jews had incorporated every species of idolatry in their impure worship, - Phoenician, Egyptian, and Persian. I might add that some imagine the image of jealousy to be a personification of idolatry itself.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

8:1-24:27 THE SINS OF JERUSALEM

Idolatry in the temple (8:1-18)

A year and two months had now passed since God called Ezekiel to be a prophet. By this time people recognized him as a prophet, and leaders among the exiles came to discuss their affairs with him (8:1; cf. 1:1-2). While the leaders were sitting talking with him, Ezekiel was suddenly caught up by the Spirit of God and taken, as it were, to Jerusalem (2-3).
Ezekiel knew immediately that these visions were from God, because the first thing he saw was a vision of the glory of God similar to that which he had seen earlier (4; cf. 1:1-28). In this vision Ezekiel was taken to the temple where, as he was about to enter the inner court, he saw an idol that stirred God to jealousy (5-6).
From there Ezekiel went by a secret door into a hidden room (7-9). There he saw a gathering of Jerusalem’s leaders, who were secretly worshipping pictures of animals painted on the walls. Foolishly, they thought God could not see them (10-13). In another part of the temple Ezekiel saw women carrying out ritual mourning as part of their worship of the foreign god, Tammuz (14-15). Finally, Ezekiel came into the inner court of the temple, where he saw a group of priests who had turned their backs on the temple and were worshipping the sun. ‘Putting the branch to the nose’ was part of the ritual and a particularly offensive insult to God (16-18).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"And he brought me into the inner court of Jehovah's house; and behold, at the door of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O Son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abomination which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger: and lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in wrath; mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them."

WORSHIP OF THE SUN BY THE PRIESTS

Here is the climax of the abominations witnessed by Ezekiel in the vision. The heads of the twenty-four courses of the sacred priesthood, led by the High priest, making up the "twenty five men" mentioned here, were not only worshipping the sun, but they were doing so in the very temple of God, with their backs turned upon the sacred temple of Jehovah! Keil pointed out that this was not the worship of Adonis, or any other sun-god, but, "The worship of the heavenly bodies, against which Moses had warned the people (Deuteronomy 4:19; Deuteronomy 17:3)."Carl Friedrich Keil, Keil-Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 123.

"They put the branch to the nose" "Assyrian reliefs identify this gesture as an act of reverence and worship."G. R. Beasley-Murray in the New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 670. "Sun worshippers held branches or bundles of twigs from certain trees to their mouth, that they might not contaminate the sun with their breath."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 498. From this, it appears that the fallen Israelites had adopted sun-worship with all of its variations and embellishments. Cook understood Ezekiel's use of "nose" instead of "mouth" here as designed to represent the practice, "In contemptuous and derogatory terms."Albert Barnes' Commentary, p. 324. "Many scholars favor the translation of this place as, `They send a stench to my nostrils.'"J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 498.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

“Violence” represents sin against man, “abominations” sins against God. These went hand in hand in Jerusalem.

And have returned - After the reformation effected for a time by Josiah’s zeal, they have gone back to their old state.

They put the branch to their nose - An allusion to a then familiar practice, of which we find no clear traces elsewhere. Ezekiel is describing the attitude usual in such devotions, the branch held before the mouth, but wishing to represent it in contemptuous and derogatory terms, he substitutes the word “nose” for “mouth.”

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

God complains as formerly of the wickedness of the people, especially of their perfidious and wicked revolt, because they so defiled the temple which ought to be sacred to God alone. He adds besides another complaint, that they were not content in their wickedness, which tended to violate human society and common rights, and the pursuit of mutual equity, unless even religion should be weakened by them. For under the word חמס , chemes, is comprehended whatever is contrary to the second table of the law. There is, therefore, a use of the figure a part for the whole, in this word חמס, chemes, violence, as if he had said, they were addicted to frauds, rapine, slaughter, cruelty, perjuries, spoliations. Since, therefore, they abstained from no injustice, says God, they manifestly provoke me also: as if he had said, after being unjust towards men, they now dare to erect their horns against me. We know that God’s law was comprehended in the two tables. As to the former table, it prescribes what the true and pure worship of God is. The Jews had violated the second table, since they neglected all the duties of charity, and neither equity nor uprightness flourished among them. After they had filled the land with iniquity; this was their intolerable ungodliness, that after despising men they attacked God himself. We see now the reason of the context, Is this a light thing? says he. Thereafter he had spoken of the wickedness simply and by itself, as they say, he now amplifies by comparison when he says, before this they had filled the earth with violence, but now they have turned themselves to provoke me —behold these, he says, etc. The adverb of place must be noticed here, as I have before advised. For their impiety is the more detestable, since they broke into the temple to defile themselves with their idols. That place at least ought to remain pure and unpolluted, though the whole land had been infected with many defilements; but when not even the temple is spared, this is a sign of desperate and almost furious audacity. He, therefore, repeats the adverb which he had used before, and in the same sense.

As to the latter part of the verse, some, as I have said, take הזמורה, hez-moreh, for foulness: I know not why, for I am not aware that this noun is used elsewhere in this sense. But because nothing better occurred to them, they think it probable, and some have invented a foolish fable that they broke wind in honor of the sun, as if the noise of the belly was a grateful offering to the idol, since by this means they openly despised God. But these are conjectures. Others think more correctly who suppose this to be used metaphorically: for they were accustomed to burn incense to their idols; and so, according to them, God alludes to a pleasing and sweet odor when he names it a foul smell, as if he had said, even if the Jews pleased themselves in their superstitions, yet the incense sent forth a foetid odor and they should perceive it: for if he speaks of the nostrils it ought to be considered as a punishment. Some suppose that the relative of the third person is put for that of the first, as if God would say, to my nose or to my wrath: and they fabricate an insipid comment, that this place was changed by the Rabbins through reverence for God, as if forsooth there were not numberless passages where God pronounces in clearer words that he was disgracefully despised. But first, because this noun properly signifies a branch, and is taken in that sense in many places; then since the noun אפ, aph, may be explained as well passively as actively, the context will flow best if we say, they put forth a branch to their wrath — that is, to their destruction, because they provoked God. For what is the meaning of putting forth a branch, but that they heaped evil upon evil. They had violated, as I have said, the second table of the law, they were thieves, robbers, perjurers, and violent. Now at length their rage was directed against the former table of the law, so as to overthrow the whole worship of God. So therefore it will make good sense to say, that boughs were put forth — for the singular number is taken for the plural, as often happens. Since, therefore, they so put forth boughs or budded, God says, that this should be for their destruction, because at length when he had spared them a long time, after a fit time for their punishment arrived, he would consume them. Now, therefore, we understand what the Prophet means. But if any other conjecture pleases, every one may form his own opinion; I do not contest the point, but I show what I think most probable. It follows —

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 8

Now we move into a new section of the book that is really a conclusion of his first prophesy.

It came to pass now in the sixth year, and in the sixth month, and in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me ( Ezekiel 8:1 ).

Ezekiel was there sitting in his house, some of the ancient men of Israel, the older men, were gathered there with him and God's Spirit came upon him.

Then I beheld, and lo there was a likeness as of the appearance of fire ( Ezekiel 8:2 ):

And that is the appearance of fire. Greek Septuagint here translates this as the appearance of man. The word fire in Hebrew is esh, and the word man is ish. So the Greek translators felt that this was the ish, so the appearance of a man. And from the context it would seem that perhaps that is correct.

and from the appearance of his loins even downward, it was fiery; and from his loins even upward, it was as the appearance of a brightness, and as the color of amber. And he put forth the form of a hand, and he took me by a lock of my head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looks towards the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes the jealousy. And, behold, the glory of [God] the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I had seen in the plain ( Ezekiel 8:2-4 ).

That was the vision that he described of the cherubims there in chapter 1.

Now here is Ezekiel sitting with the elders and suddenly he sees this form of a fire or of a man, and from the loins upward it looked like fire and from downward this bright color of amber. And a hand came forth, took him by his hair, lifted him up between heaven and earth and then transported him to Jerusalem, to the inner court, the north gate of the inner court, where he saw there the horrible abominations for which God's judgment had come upon the people.

Then he said unto me, Son of man, lift up now your eyes toward the north. So I looked my eyes toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar there was this image of jealousy at the entry. And he said furthermore unto me, Son of man, do you see what they are doing? even the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn yet again, and you'll see even greater abominations ( Ezekiel 8:5-6 ).

You see the things they are doing here? Right within the house, right within the sanctuary. Things that provoke Me to jealousy because of the false gods that were worshipped right there within the precincts of the temple. But He said, "Hang on, you haven't seen the worst yet."

And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. Then he said unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, I found a door. So I went in and I saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the walls around about ( Ezekiel 8:7-8 , Ezekiel 8:10 ).

So he came into this room and he looked at all of these filthy drawings on the walls.

And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan ( Ezekiel 8:11 ),

Now, Shaphan was the scribe that when Hilkiah the priest had found the law, when Josiah had initiated these spiritual reforms you remember and they found the book of the law, and they brought it to Josiah and Shaphan read to him out of the law and he realized how far they had turned against God. And he repented even more and ordered this mass repentance of the people. Shaphan was a faithful scribe, but his son, the rat. He's an old man now. He's standing with the ancients, Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan.

with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense was going up. Then he said unto me, Son of man, have you seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the eaRuth ( Ezekiel 8:11-12 ).

Now, here is the wild part about this. This hole in the wall that Ezekiel dug, coming into a room and looking around on the walls of the room, seeing all the pornography and all, God is saying, "Ezekiel, I've allowed you to come into the minds of these people. What you have been seeing is the things that are in their imaginations. The fantasies and those things that are in their minds, the imageries that are in their minds. These are their thoughts; these are what they are thinking. All of this filthy stuff that you've seen are the things that are going on in the minds of the ancient. These men who are supposed to be the spiritual leaders of Israel, and yet their minds are polluted."

Now, that is sort of a heavy issue in realizing that God can probe right into our minds and He sees those images, those imaginations of our own minds. That, to me, is rather sobering. To think that nothing is hid from God, even my thoughts God knows. The imaginations that I have, God sees. That is why the scripture says that we are to bring every thought into captivity, unto the obedience of Jesus Christ.

Now they were saying, "The Lord doesn't see us and the Lord has forsaken the earth." They were wrong on both counts. God did see and God has not forsaken.

But He said unto me, Turn again, and you're going to see things that are even worse. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz ( Ezekiel 8:13-14 ).

Now, Tammuz was a Babylonian god. He was the god of resurrection. He was worshipped in the springtime as the trees would come into blossom. They would morn for Tammuz in the fall as the leaves were dying on the trees and the trees were going bare and all; they would weep for Tammuz. But then in the springtime when the trees would begin to bud and blossom and all again, they would have great parties and they would decorate eggs and celebrate the resurrection of Tammuz, because now we have new life. The new life of spring is around us and the egg is a symbol of perpetuated life, because it's through the egg that the little birds or chicks or whatever are hatched. And so it's a symbol of the perpetuating of life. And so, they would take the eggs and color them, draw on them, and would have these parties with the colored eggs celebrating the resurrection of Tammuz.

Any similarity is far from coincidental. The church unfortunately adopted the pagan practice of the worship of Tammuz and the resurrection of Tammuz and incorporated it into the church, calling it Easter. And having an Easter Sunday, taking the name of the Greek goddess Astarte who was supposed to be the consort of Adonis, who is the Greek equivalent to Tammuz. And we have incorporated into the church and there are churches that have Easter egg hunts and give baskets of colored eggs to the children and all at Easter time, Astarte.

In the early church we don't read of them celebrating the resurrection of Christ on any particular day, but because the pagans were all celebrating in this pagan worship of Tammuz, and they had this day which they acclaimed the resurrection and all in the springtime, the church didn't want their people to feel left out. And so, they said, "This is the day that Jesus rose, and we'll color the eggs and do the same bit, but we're celebrating now the resurrection of Jesus."

I am not certain what the Lord thinks about that. I wonder. The Lord said to Ezekiel, "Come and I'll show you something that's really disturbing. See those women, they're weeping for Tammuz." Not weeping for the desolation that was coming, not weeping because the sin that was rampant in the land, not weeping because they had come into such a moral decay, but weeping for Tammuz, the Babylonian god of resurrection.

Then he said unto me, Have you seen this, O son of man? turn again, you're going to see even greater abominations than these. And he brought me to the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east ( Ezekiel 8:15-16 ).

And so, here they were, backs towards the temple, signifying turning their backs upon God, and worshipping now the sun god, worshipping towards the east. I go over to Jerusalem and as we go up to the temple mount, and as I see there that large Dome of the Rock Mosque that occupies the center of the temple of the mount, and you hear this crazy wailing coming over the loud speakers. This musing and you see all of these people get out their little rugs and kneel and bow and face the east in prayer there on the temple mount today, it always brings to my mind that picture that Ezekiel got when he was taken there by the Lord in this vision and saw these men turning from God and worshipping towards the east.

Then he said unto me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they have committed here? for they have filled the land with violence, they have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch in their nose ( Ezekiel 8:17 ).

Now, this was a symbol that was, and a sign used in some of these pagan rites that are so horribly, unspeakably, vile that we could not even in a mixed congregation describe to you the rites by which they worshipped their gods. But God declared,

Therefore will I also deal in fury: my eye will not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them ( Ezekiel 8:18 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The idolatry of the priests 8:16-18

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The Lord explained that not only had the Judahites committed all these abominations but they had also filled the land with violence and provoked Him repeatedly. Putting a twig to the nose was evidently part of the ritual practice of sun worship. [Note: See H. W. F. Saggs, "Notes and Studies: The Branch to the Nose," Journal of Theological Studies NS11 (October 1960):318-29.] Another interpretation views this expression as describing some gross insult against God, something like creating a stench in God’s nose. [Note: Taylor, p. 100. See also Greenberg, pp. 172-73; Zimmerli, pp. 244-45; R. Gordis, "The Branch in the Nose," Journal of Theological Studies 37 (1936):284-85; and Block, The Book . . ., p. 299.] Perhaps both meanings are correct.

"The Akkadian expression appa labana denotes a gesture of worship involving both hand and nose. Sometimes the hand holds an object to the nose, as in the Bavian sculpture of Sennacherib worshiping the Assyrian gods, in which the object held by the king is perhaps a branch . . ." [Note: Allen, p. 146.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Then he said unto me, hast thou seen [this], O son of man?.... Took notice of and considered this piece of idolatry, worshipping the sun toward the east:

is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? could these things, which are such dreadful abominations, committed here in the temple, be reckoned light things by them, as surely they cannot? yet these are not all that they have done:

for they have filled the land with violence; with rapine and oppression; doing injury to the poor and needy, the widow and the fatherless, in all places:

and have returned to provoke me to anger; by other instances of idolatry:

and, lo, they put the branch to their nose; a laurel, or olive, or vine branch, which idolaters carried in their hands, and put to their nose, in honour of the idol they worshipped; in like manner as they kissed their hand at the sight of the sun, Job 31:26; and which the Jews did in imitation of the Heathen. This is one of the eighteen places in which there is "tikkun sopherim", or a "correction of the scribes"; who, instead of "my nose", direct to read "their nose"; hence the words are differently interpreted by the Jewish commentators; who, by זמורה, rendered "branch", think an ill smell is meant; arising either from their posteriors, their back being towards the temple; or from the incense which they offered up to their idols; so Kimchi and Menachem in Jarchi; agreeably to which Fortunatus Scacchus k understands this, not of any branch used by idolaters, which they put to the nose of their idol, or their own, for the honour of that; but of the censer which the Israelites used, contrary to the command of God, and which they put to their nose to enjoy a forbidden smell; see Ezekiel 16:18; but Gussetius l gives another sense of the words, rendering them, "they send forth a branch to their anger"; the Israelites are compared to a vine, as in Isaiah 5:1; sending forth bad branches, idolatrous actions, as here in this chapter; and to these bad branches they sent forth or added another, even anger against God, the prophets, true believers, and right worshippers of God; and therefore he also would deal in fury and wrath, as in Ezekiel 8:18; so Dr. Lightfoot m renders it,

""they send the branch to my wrath", or "to their own wrath"; that is, to what they have deserved; as if it was said, in the same manner that anyone puts wood to the fire, the branch of the wild vine, that it may the more quickly be burnt; so do these put the branch to my wrath, that it may burn the more fiercely; hence it follows, "therefore will I also deal in fury", c.''

The Targum is,

"and, lo, they bring shame (or confusion) to their faces''

what they do turns to their own ruin and destruction; as follows:

k Sacror. Eleaochr. Myrothec. l. 2. p. 536. l Ebr. Comment. p. 231. m Heb. & Talmud. Exercitat. in Johan. xv. 6.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.   14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.   15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.   16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.   17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.   18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.

      Here we have,

      I. More and greater abominations discovered to the prophet. He thought that what he had seen was bad enough and yet (Ezekiel 8:13; Ezekiel 8:13): Turn thyself again, and thou shalt see yet greater abominations, and greater still, Ezekiel 8:15; Ezekiel 8:15, as before, Ezekiel 8:6; Ezekiel 8:6. There are those who live in retirement who do no think what wickedness there is in this world; and the more we converse with it, and the further we go abroad into it, the more corrupt we see it. When we have seen that which is bad we may have our wonder at it made to cease by the discovery of that which, upon some account or other, is a great deal worse. We shall find it so in examining our own hearts and searching into them; there is a world of iniquity in them, a great abundance and variety of abominations, and, when we have found out much amiss, still we shall find more; for the heart is desperately wicked, who can know it perfectly? Now the abominations here discovered were, 1. Women weeping for Tammuz,Ezekiel 8:14; Ezekiel 8:14. An abominable thing indeed, that any should choose rather to serve an idol in tears than to serve the true God with joyfulness and gladness of heart! Yet such absurdities as these are those guilty of who follow after lying vanities and forsake their own mercies. Some think it was for Adonis, an idol among the Greeks, other for Osiris, an idol of the Egyptians, that they shed these tears. The image, they say, was made to weep, and then the worshippers wept with it. They bewailed the death of this Tammuz, and anon rejoiced in its returning to life again. These mourning women sat at the door of the gate of the Lord's house, and there shed their idolatrous tears, as it were in defiance of God and the sacred rites of his worship, and some think, with their idolatry, prostrating themselves also to corporeal whoredom; for these two commonly went together, and those that dishonoured the divine nature by the one were justly given up to vile affections and a reprobate sense to dishonour the human nature, which nowhere ever sunk so far below itself as in these idolatrous rites. 2. Men worshipping the sun,Ezekiel 8:16; Ezekiel 8:16. And this was so much the greater an abomination that it was practised in the inner court of the Lord's house at the door of the temple of the lord, between the porch and the altar. There, where the most sacred rites of their holy religion used to be performed, was this abominable wickedness committed. Justly might God in jealousy say to those who thus affronted him at his own door, as the king to Haman, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? Here were about twenty-five men giving that honour to the sun which is due to God only. Some think they were the king and his princes; it should rather seem that they were priests, for this was the court of the priests, and the proper place to find them in. Those that were entrusted with the true religion, had it committed to their care and were charged with the custody of it, they were the men that betrayed it. (1.) They turned their backs towards the temple of the Lord, resolvedly forgetting it and designedly slighting it and putting contempt upon it. Note, When men turn their backs upon God's institutions, and despise them, it is no marvel if they wander endlessly after their own inventions. Impiety is the beginning of idolatry and all iniquity. (2.) They turned their faces towards the east, and worshipped the sun, the rising sun. This was an ancient instance of idolatry; it is mentioned in Job's time (Job 31:26), and had been generally practised among the nations, some worshipping the sun under one name, others under another. These priests, finding it had antiquity and general consent and usage on its side (the two pleas which the papists use at this day in defence of their superstitious rites, and particularly this of worshipping towards the east), practised it in the court of the temple, thinking it an omission that it was not inserted in their ritual. See the folly of idolaters in worshipping that as a god, and calling it Baal--a lord, which God made to be a servant to the universe (for such the sun is, and so his name Shemesh signified, Deuteronomy 4:19), and in adoring the borrowed light and despising the Father of lights.

      II. The inference drawn from these discoveries (Ezekiel 8:17; Ezekiel 8:17): "Hast thou seen this, O son of man! and couldst thou have thought ever to see such things done in the temple of the Lord?" Now, 1. He appeals to the prophet himself concerning the heinousness of the crime. Can he think it is a light thing to the house of Judah, who know and profess better things, and are dignified with so many privileges above other nations? Is it an excusable thing in those that have God's oracles and ordinances that they commit the abominations which they commit here? Do not those deserve to suffer that thus sin? Should not such abominations as these make desolate?Daniel 9:27. 2. He aggravates it from the fraud and oppression that were to be found in all parts of the nations: They have filled the land with violence. It is not strange if those that wrong God thus make no conscience of wronging one another, and with all that is sacred trample likewise upon all that is just. And their wickedness in their conversations made even the worship they paid to their own God an abomination (Isaiah 1:11, c.): "They fill the land with violence, and then they return to the temple to provoke me to anger there for even their sacrifices, instead of making an atonement, do but add to their guilt. They return to provoke me (they repeat the provocation, do it, and do it again), and, lo, they put the branch to their nose" --a proverbial expression denoting perhaps their scoffing at God and having him in derision; they snuffed at his service, as men do when they put a branch to their nose. Or it was some custom used by idolaters in honour of the idols they served. We read of garlands used in their idolatrous worships (Acts 14:13), out of which every zealot took a branch which they smelled to as a nosegay. Dr. Lightfoot (Hor. Heb. in John 15.6) gives another sense of this place: They put the branch to their wrath, or to his wrath, as the Masorites read it; that is, they are still bringing more fuel (such as the withered branches of the vine) to the fire of divine wrath, which they have already kindled, as if that wrath did not burn hot enough already. Or putting the branch to the nose may signify the giving of a very great affront and provocation either to God or man; they are an abusive generation of men. 3. He passes sentence upon them that they shall be utterly cut off: Therefore, because they are thus furiously bent upon sin, I will also deal in fury with them, Ezekiel 8:18; Ezekiel 8:18. They filled the land with their violence, and God will fill it with the violence of their enemies; and he will not lend a favourable ear to the suggestions either, (1.) Of his own pity: My eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; repentance shall be hidden from his eyes; or, (2.) Of their prayers: Though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them; for still their sins cry more loudly for vengeance than their prayers cry for mercy. God will now be as deaf to their prayers as their own idols were, on whom they cried aloud, but in vain, 1 Kings 18:26. Time was when God was ready to hear even before they cried and to answer while they were yet speaking; but now they shall seek me early and not find me,Proverbs 1:28. It is not the loud voice, but the upright heart, that God will regard.