Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
English Standard Version (ESV)
It's easy to see this as just another foreign pagan ritual, but the real sting is that this weeping happened at the very "door of the gate of the house of the LORD." It wasn't some distant, fringe activity; it was occurring right on the fringes of God's dwelling place, corrupting its sacred space with their sorrow for an idol instead of their own sin.
Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The vision now shifts to the north gate of the Lord's house, revealing women engaged in a disturbing ritual: weeping for Tammuz. This act is deeply offensive as it occurs within the sacred precincts and represents a perversion of worship, blending pagan mourning rites with idolatry that was known to involve licentiousness and the worship of nature's cycles.
The Temple was God's dwelling place, meant for praise and prayer. But in Ezekiel's vision, a sacred spot becomes the stage for a deeply pagan ritual. What does it mean when worship gets twisted?
Ezekiel is brought to the north gate of the Lord's house, a place intended for God's presence and service. Yet, instead of devotion, he witnesses women weeping for Tammuz. This wasn't just a private act; it happened at the very threshold of the Temple.
Corruption of the Holy
Tears can signify deep emotion – grief, sorrow, even repentance. But what happens when those tears are shed for an idol, a false god, instead of for genuine sin?
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The object of these women's sorrow was Tammuz, a figure widely understood to be connected to fertility cults and nature worship, often identified with the Greek Adonis or the Babylonian Dumuzi.
The Tragedy of Tammuz Worship
Understand the original words
Tammuz · Sumerian/Akkadian (transliterated into Hebrew) Proper Noun
A Mesopotamian deity associated with fertility and vegetation; his death and rebirth cycle were celebrated through mourning rituals, which were strictly forbidden in the worship of the God of Israel.
The women weeping for Tammuz represent a deep betrayal of God's covenant, occurring within the sacred precincts of the Temple at a time when Jerusalem's political and religious future was collapsing.
c. 626-586 BC
Reign of King Zedekiah
Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, reigned during a tumultuous period marked by increasing Babylonian pressure and internal division. His reign saw attempts to form alliances against Babylon, which ultimately proved disastrous.
c. 605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar's forces first captured Jerusalem, deporting members of the royal family and skilled workers, including Daniel. This event marked the beginning of Judah's subjugation.
c. 597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Following Zedekiah's rebellion, another wave of exiles, including the priest Ezekiel and King Jehoiachin, were deported to Babylon. This intensified the crisis for Judah.
c. 586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Third Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple, leading to the final, largest deportation of Judeans to Babylon. This event devastated the nation and its religious center.
c. 593 BC— this verse
Ezekiel's Vision of Idolatry
The prophet Ezekiel, living in exile in Babylon, receives a series of visions showing the abominations occurring within the Jerusalem Temple, despite its destruction being imminent or having just occurred.
This passage describes women making cakes for the 'Queen of Heaven' and pouring out drink offerings, highlighting the involvement of women in idolatrous practices that God condemns, similar to the women weeping for Tammuz.
2 Kings 23:7This verse mentions women weaving hangings for Asherah in the temple itself, showing a pattern of defilement within the sacred space by women engaging in idolatry, just as seen in Ezekiel's vision.
Isaiah 3:26This prophecy speaks of Jerusalem's gates mourning and lamenting, which parallels the imagery of women sitting and weeping, suggesting a broader theme of national grief and judgment over spiritual unfaithfulness.
Ezekiel 5:11God declares that His sanctuaries have been defiled by the people's abominations, reinforcing how these specific acts of weeping for Tammuz represent a deep corruption of the holy place.
pooleEzekiel 8:14: "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."
He brought me, not by real and corporal change of place, but in vision and by representation. Of the gate of the outer court, or court of the women, so called because they were allowed to come into it, as were all the laity of the Jews: but it is more likely the gate of the inner court, the court of the priests, next to the house of God, whi…
clarkeEzekiel 8:14: "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."
There sat women weeping for Tammuz - This was Adonis, as we have already seen; and so the Vulgate here translates. My old MS. Bible reads, There saten women, mornynge a mawmete of lecherye that is cleped Adonrdes. He is fabled to have been a beautiful youth beloved by Venus, and killed by a wild boar in Mount Lebanon, whence springs the rive…
It's easy to see this as just another foreign pagan ritual, but the real sting is that this weeping happened at the very "door of the gate of the house of the LORD." It wasn't some distant, fringe activity; it was occurring right on the fringes of God's dwelling place, corrupting its sacred space with their sorrow for an idol instead of their own sin.
The vision now shifts to the north gate of the Lord's house, revealing women engaged in a disturbing ritual: weeping for Tammuz. This act is deeply offensive as it occurs within the sacred precincts and represents a perversion of worship, blending pagan mourning rites with idolatry that was known to involve licentiousness and the worship of nature's cycles.
The vision now shifts to the north gate of the Lord's house, revealing women engaged in a disturbing ritual: weeping for Tammuz. This act is deeply offensive as it occurs within the sacred precincts and represents a perversion of worship, blending pagan mourning rites with idolatry that was known to involve licentiousness and the worship of nature's cycles.
"Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz." — It's easy to see this as just another foreign pagan ritual, but the real sting is that this weeping happened at the very "door of the gate of the house of the LORD." It wasn't some distant, fringe ac…
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Last reviewed October 2026