Introduction: A Prophetic Journey to Jerusalem - Seeing Why the Temple Was Destroyed
Chapter 8 of Yechezkel is one of the most difficult and jarring chapters in the book. Yechezkel is sitting in Babylonia among the exiles, and suddenly he is transported in a prophetic vision to Jerusalem, into the Courtyard (Azarah) and into the hidden chambers, where the Holy One, Blessed be He, shows him step by step the abominations being committed in the Beis HaMikdash. The entire purpose of this vision is singular: that Yechezkel, and with him all the exiles, should understand why the people of Israel are enduring such immense suffering and why the Beis HaMikdash is about to be destroyed. Come and see what is being done in Jerusalem - and you will wonder no longer.
Passuk 1: The Date and the Setting
וַיְהִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשִּׁשִּׁית בַּשִּׁשִּׁי בַּחֲמִשָּׁה לַחֹדֶשׁ אֲנִי יוֹשֵׁב בְּבֵיתִי וְזִקְנֵי יְהוּדָה יוֹשְׁבִים לְפָנָי וַתִּפֹּל עָלַי שָׁם יַד אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה׃ - And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there.
Yechezkel states, "in the sixth year," without specifying the sixth year of what. Our Sages expound: this is the sixth year of King Yehoyachin's exile. The setting itself is significant: "as I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me" - prophecy descended upon him before the elders, in plain sight of them: "that the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there."
Passuk 2: The Vision - Fire and Chashmal
וָאֶרְאֶה וְהִנֵּה דְמוּת כְּמַרְאֵה אֵשׁ מִמַּרְאֵה מׇתְנָיו וּלְמַטָּה אֵשׁ וּמִמׇּתְנָיו וּלְמַעְלָה כְּמַרְאֵה זֹהַר כְּעֵין הַחַשְׁמַלָה׃ - And I looked, and behold, a likeness with the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his loins downward was fire, and from his loins upward was the appearance of brightness, like the color of chashmal.
Rashi writes concerning this passuk: "It is forbidden to contemplate this passuk." Commentators have noted his precise wording - he does not say it is forbidden to study it, but rather that it is forbidden to contemplate it, meaning to delve into and investigate these sublime mysteries. According to the peshat of the verses, as far as our limited human intellect can grasp: Yechezkel sees an extraordinary figure with the appearance of fire - from his loins downward resembling fire, and from his loins upward "like the appearance of brightness, like the color of chashmal," for chashmal is something far more refined and exalted than fire.
And let us not make a mistake: the word "chashmal" (electricity) familiar to us today is a term coined through the narrow perspective of Ben-Yehuda, and in truth it was utterly inappropriate to use this word. In sacred books, it is never written as a single mundane word, but rather like a holy name: Chash-Mal, separated with a hyphen. Ben-Yehuda took a sacred, esoteric term and turned it into the name of a utility company - the Electric Company (Chevrat Chashmal). This is unthinkable. Yet we have little choice now, as people have grown accustomed to it. For this reason, many prefer not to use Ben-Yehuda's terminology, and in halachic responsa literature (she'elot u'teshuvot), you will find authors writing "elekteri" - via electric power. They wrote it with an ayin rather than an alef, because in Yiddish the ayin serves as the vowel tzere and the alef as kamatz, pronounced "elekteri."
And what is the meaning of "chashmal"? Chazal teach that it is a compound of two words. One explanation: "chash" denotes silence (as in hecheshu, "they fell silent"), and "mal" denotes speech (milah) - meaning, this matter is beyond your comprehension and too sublime for you; do not speak of it. A second explanation in Chazal: chash-memallel, that the angels in their movement appear to speak with immense swiftness, from the expression hicheesh pa'amav ("hastened his steps") - speaking with great speed.
Passuk 3: Taken by the Lock of His Head to Jerusalem
וַיִּשְׁלַח תַּבְנִית יָד וַיִּקָּחֵנִי בְּצִיצִת רֹאשִׁי וַתִּשָּׂא אֹתִי רוּחַ בֵּין הָאָרֶץ וּבֵין הַשָּׁמַיִם וַתָּבֵא אֹתִי יְרוּשָׁלַמָה בְּמַרְאוֹת אֱלֹהִים אֶל פֶּתַח שַׁעַר הַפְּנִימִית הַפּוֹנֶה צָפוֹנָה אֲשֶׁר שָׁם מוֹשַׁב סֵמֶל הַקִּנְאָה הַמַּקְנֶה׃ - And he put forth the form of a hand and took me by the lock of my head; and a spirit lifted me between earth and heaven, and brought me to Jerusalem in visions of God, to the entrance of the inner gate facing north, where the image of jealousy that provokes anger was situated.
A necessary introduction: Yechezkel was exiled in the exile of Yehoyachin and was in Babylonia by the Kevar River, and from there he prophesied concerning the Land of Israel as well. Yet the Gemara asks: How can this be, seeing that there is no prophecy outside the Land of Israel, which is why Yonah fled to Tarshish? Rather, one whose prophecy began in the Land of Israel continues to receive prophecy outside the Land as well, and for the sake of the Land of Israel.
"And He took me by the lock of my head" - by the braids of his hair, by his forelock. And all this was solely within the prophetic vision, lest we mistakenly think Yechezkel physically arrived in Jerusalem. He says: I perceive as though Hashem takes hold of me by my hair, carries me, and sets me down in Jerusalem. And it is all within visions of God. And why does He take him there? In order to show him what is causing the destruction of the Temple.
Why Specifically the Gate Facing North
The Malbim explains: We do not find that an idol was erected in the Sanctuary after the era of Menasheh. Menasheh was the one who set up an idol in the Sanctuary of Hashem, and that sin was still held against them, unforgiven, without complete repentance having been done for it. Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed be He, stated that even the exile came about through the iniquity of erecting an idol in the Sanctuary. That sin endured and cast its repercussions down to the complete exile. Thus, when speaking here of an idol in the Sanctuary, it refers to the idol of Menasheh's days.
And why was it placed at the entrance facing north? The Malbim explains: The heretics believed there were two powers in creation - a god who does good and a god who does evil, and the place of the god who does evil is on the north side. There is support for this in the verses where the northern direction is associated with evil: "Out of the north shall evil break forth," and likewise, "Remove, please, from her the company of the Northern faction" - and the "Northern one" (Tzefoni) is the evil inclination.
And why is the evil inclination called "Tzefoni"? Our Sages explain: It is hidden (tzafun) in the heart of man. But seemingly, the good inclination is also hidden in the heart, so why specifically the evil inclination? The Nefesh HaChaim offers a wonderful explanation: When the Holy One, Blessed be He, placed the evil inclination within man after the sin of Adam HaRishon, it did not merely attach itself to him; rather, man came to identify with it completely. When the evil inclination desires a sin, a person does not say, "The evil inclination wants this," but rather, "I feel like it." The evil inclination speaks through one's own throat, in the first person. In contrast, the good inclination always seems like someone coming from the outside - conscience weighs on me, someone comes and tells me that I am doing wrong. Notice the distortion: when I desired the forbidden act, that was "me"; yet when someone comes to rebuke me, it feels like an outsider. This was the effect of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, where evil became intertwined with man until it became part of him.
And what is the "image of jealousy that provokes jealousy"? Jealousy here is in the sense of wrath, as in "My fury was ignited against that man" - a force of anger, wrath, destruction, and ruin. They sought to appease that destructive power, which is why they set up its image specifically on the north side, in the place where, in their view, that evil power resides and from where it had to be appeased.
Verse 4: The Glory of the God of Israel
וְהִנֵּה שָׁם כְּבוֹד אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּמַּרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר רָאִיתִי בַּבִּקְעָה׃ - And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.
There the glory of the God of Israel was revealed to him, and he describes it as a vision he had already seen on a previous occasion - in the valley, and before that by the Kevar River.
Verse 5: The Image of Jealousy at the Entrance
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי בֶּן אָדָם שָׂא נָא עֵינֶיךָ דֶּרֶךְ צָפוֹנָה וָאֶשָּׂא עֵינַי דֶּרֶךְ צָפוֹנָה וְהִנֵּה מִצָּפוֹן לְשַׁעַר הַמִּזְבֵּחַ סֵמֶל הַקִּנְאָה הַזֶּה בַּבִּאָה׃ - And He said to me: Son of man, please lift up your eyes toward the north. So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate was this image of jealousy at the entrance.
"Lift up your eyes toward the north" - toward the northern side, for it was there that they placed the idol to appease that force and prevent it from arousing wrath and jealousy against them. "At the entrance" means: immediately upon entering. And why at the entrance? So that this evil power, as it were, would immediately see the appeasement, retreat, and not enter at all. Like a sort of idolatrous "doorkeeper", the image was stationed right at the doorway.
Pasuk 6: Abominations to Drive Away the Shechinah
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי בֶּן אָדָם הֲרֹאֶה אַתָּה מָה הֵם עֹשִׂים תּוֹעֵבוֹת גְּדֹלוֹת אֲשֶׁר בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל עֹשִׂים פֹּה לְרׇחֳקָה מֵעַל מִקְדָּשִׁי וְעוֹד תָּשׁוּב תִּרְאֶה תּוֹעֵבוֹת גְּדֹלוֹת׃ - And He said to me: "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the House of Israel is committing here, to distance Me from My Sanctuary? And you will yet see again great abominations."
With astonishment, He says to him: Do you see what abominations they are committing, whose entire effect is to drive Me away from My Sanctuary, so that I will not rest My Shechinah there because of the image and idol they have set up? And He adds: You will yet see other abominations. The difference between them is this: here is an abomination aimed at warding off evil from them, whereas further on are abominations aimed at drawing down good and bounty upon themselves from the celestial constellations.
Pesukim 7-8: The Hole in the Wall and the Digging Through
וַיָּבֵא אֹתִי אֶל פֶּתַח הֶחָצֵר וָאֶרְאֶה וְהִנֵּה חֹר אֶחָד בַּקִּיר׃ - And He brought me to the entrance of the courtyard, and I looked, and behold, there was a hole in the wall.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי בֶּן אָדָם חֲתׇר נָא בַקִּיר וָאֶחְתֹּר בַּקִּיר וְהִנֵּה פֶּתַח אֶחָד׃ - And He said to me: "Son of man, dig now through the wall." And I dug through the wall, and behold, there was an entrance.
He brought him to the doorway of that gate, and he saw a hole in the wall of the Azarah (Courtyard). He was told: Enlarge the hole. And when he dug through, he saw through it the entrance to a chamber. According to the Malbim: through the very act of digging, an entrance opened for him - he began digging at a small hole, and suddenly a full doorway formed through which he could pass.
Radak adds an allusion: The digging into the wall served as a parable, showing him that the nations would likewise come and breach the wall of the Azarah and the walls of the Beis HaMikdash. The digging symbolizes the impending destruction.
Pasuk 9: What Is Done in Secret
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָי בֹּא וּרְאֵה אֶת הַתּוֹעֵבוֹת הָרָעוֹת אֲשֶׁר הֵם עֹשִׂים פֹּה׃ - And He said to me: "Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are doing here."
That is to say: there are further abominations that are committed in secret, and I am now granting you entry inside so that you may also see what they do in hiding.
Verse 10: Idols Engraved on the Holy Walls
וָאָבוֹא וָאֶרְאֶה וְהִנֵּה כׇל תַּבְנִית רֶמֶשׂ וּבְהֵמָה שֶׁקֶץ וְכׇל גִּלּוּלֵי בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל מְחֻקֶּה עַל הַקִּיר סָבִיב סָבִיב׃ - So I entered and saw, and behold, every form of creeping thing and abominable beast, and all the idols of the House of Israel, carved upon the wall all around.
He enters and sees carved upon the walls every form of creeping creature, beast, and abomination - all the most abhorrent forms of idolatry of their day, engraved on the inner walls of the Azarah (Courtyard). Consider how dreadful this is: idolatry outside the Beis HaMikdash is a grave sin, but here they set up an image of jealousy inside the House itself, bringing idolatry in and engraving it upon the inner walls of the Temple.
Verse 11: The Seventy Elders and Yaazanyahu
וְשִׁבְעִים אִישׁ מִזִּקְנֵי בֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיַאֲזַנְיָהוּ בֶן שָׁפָן עֹמֵד בְּתוֹכָם עֹמְדִים לִפְנֵיהֶם וְאִישׁ מִקְטַרְתּוֹ בְּיָדוֹ וַעֲתַר עֲנַן הַקְּטֹרֶת עֹלֶה׃ - And seventy men of the elders of the House of Israel, with Yaazanyahu the son of Shaphan standing among them, were standing before them, each man with his censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense arose.
These were not ordinary people, but the most prominent figures of the nation. We have an established rule: when Scripture counts a group and singles out one individual by name, it teaches that he was the most prominent of them. This is why Rashi notes that Yaazanyahu ben Shaphan is mentioned separately. "Each man with his censer in his hand" - a fire-pan used for burning incense to idols.
"And a thick cloud [va'atar] of incense" - denotes abundance. Similar to "you have multiplied [ha'atartem] words" - you have increased them; "entreat [ha'atiru] for me" - multiply prayers on my behalf; "the kisses of an enemy are profuse [ne'etarot]" - numerous, meaning even a single kiss from an enemy is too much for me and I have no desire for it. Here as well: an abundance of incense smoke was rising.
And what does Scripture come to teach us? The Radak explains: Come and see - seventy men, corresponding to the seventy members of the Sanhedrin. The Creator gave Israel seventy elders to guide them in the proper path, yet precisely these leaders are misleading them, going themselves to burn incense to idols! And Yaazanyah ben Shaphan was the head of the Sanhedrin; he was their leader, and they all followed him into error.
Verse 12: "Hashem Does Not See Us"
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי הֲרָאִיתָ בֶן אָדָם אֲשֶׁר זִקְנֵי בֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל עֹשִׂים בַּחֹשֶׁךְ אִישׁ בְּחַדְרֵי מַשְׂכִּיתוֹ כִּי אֹמְרִים אֵין יְהֹוָה רֹאֶה אֹתָנוּ עָזַב יְהֹוָה אֶת הָאָרֶץ׃ - And He said to me, "Have you seen, son of man, what the elders of the House of Israel are doing in the dark, each man in his carved chambers? For they say: Hashem does not see us; Hashem has abandoned the land."
They act in the dark, believing that no one sees them. "In his carved chambers [be-chadrei maskito]" - Rashi explains this from the root of covering or partitioning, paved with marble stones, related to "and I will cover [ve-sakoti] with My hand," denoting a covering and partition; thus the floor was covered, as it were, with marble stones.
"Hashem has abandoned the land" - they believed, so to speak, that the Holy One, blessed be He, had abandoned governance and decision-making over earthly affairs and handed them over to the celestial forces, the stars and constellations, which now govern earthly reality; while He watches only over the upper realms, meaning one can do whatever he pleases down here.
The Malbim explains "the chambers of his imagery" differently: maskito is related to the root found in "Who gives the heart (sekhvi) understanding." What is sekhvi? It is the heart. Although we recite the morning blessing over the rooster's crow because it too distinguishes between day and night, the Tur clarifies that the blessing fundamentally refers to the understanding of the heart, and sekhvi means the heart. Accordingly, "each man in the chambers of his imagery" means in the inner chambers of their hearts. The forbidden concepts they harbored deep within their hearts they would paint upon the wall, giving them a physical, tangible form through which they could worship those spiritual forces.
Verses 13-14: The Women Weeping for Tammuz
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָי עוֹד תָּשׁוּב תִּרְאֶה תּוֹעֵבוֹת גְּדֹלוֹת אֲשֶׁר הֵמָּה עֹשִׂים׃ - And He said to me, "You will see yet greater abominations that they are committing."
וַיָּבֵא אֹתִי אֶל פֶּתַח שַׁעַר בֵּית יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר אֶל הַצָּפוֹנָה וְהִנֵּה שָׁם הַנָּשִׁים יֹשְׁבוֹת מְבַכּוֹת אֶת הַתַּמּוּז׃ - And He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the House of Hashem which was toward the north, and behold, women were sitting there weeping for the Tammuz.
What you have seen so far is small compared to what I will yet show you. "And He brought me" - but was he not already there, at the northern gate? Rather, He brought him further inside.
And what is "weeping for the Tammuz"? Several explanations are offered. The Radak suggests that this is a euphemism: weeping actually means rejoicing. In the month of Tammuz, they would hold a festival for this idol, and the women would come to gladden it.
A second explanation: they had a specific idol whose eyes were filled with lead, and they would kindle a fire inside it. The heat would melt the lead, making it look as though the idol were crying. They would then say, "Look, it is weeping and begging to be worshipped." On the surface, this is astonishing - why would anyone worship a crying idol? That should be a reason not to worship it; you seek a power that can help you, not one that cries! Yet this was their bizarre ritual.
A third explanation: Tammuz is related to burning, as in the Aramaic phrase lemeza le'atuna - to stoke the furnace. A massive fire was kindled for this idol, similar to the worship of Molech, and people would surrender their children to it; the women were weeping for the sons and daughters offered up to the Tammuz.
The Radak cites yet another explanation in the name of the great sage, the Rambam (Maimonides). It is recorded in ancient pagan works - and obviously the Rambam cites this not as truth, but as a description of their pagan myths, all of which are vanity and nonsense - that there was once a false prophet named Tammuz. He appeared before a king and ordered him to worship the seven moving celestial bodies and the twelve signs of the zodiac, so the king had him put to a gruesome death. On the night he died, all the idols from across the world gathered at the palace of Babylon before the golden solar image, which was suspended between heaven and earth. The image fell to the ground in the palace with all the idols assembled around it, and it recounted what had happened to the prophet Tammuz, whereupon all the idols wailed and lamented throughout the night. When morning broke, the idols flew back to their temples across the earth. This became an enduring rite for them: at the start of the first day of the month of Tammuz each year, they would eulogize and weep for Tammuz. Anyone familiar with the Greek and Roman pantheons knows that their mythologies are full of such tales: gods waging war on gods, gods assembling in council, one god offering aid while the goddess of love opposes him and the sea god steps in - legends and pure fabrications. Others explain that Tammuz was the name of a beast.
Verses 15-16: Prostrating to the Sun
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי הֲרָאִיתָ בֶן אָדָם עוֹד תָּשׁוּב תִּרְאֶה תּוֹעֵבוֹת גְּדֹלוֹת מֵאֵלֶּה׃ - And He said to me, "Have you seen, son of man? You will see yet greater abominations than these."
The Radak makes a fine observation: earlier the verse said only, "You will see yet greater abominations that they are committing," without adding "than these." Here, however, it specifies "greater than these," because the abominations about to be shown were far worse than all the rest, completely eclipsing everything seen before.
וַיָּבֵא אֹתִי אֶל חֲצַר בֵּית יְהֹוָה הַפְּנִימִית וְהִנֵּה פֶתַח הֵיכַל יְהֹוָה בֵּין הָאוּלָם וּבֵין הַמִּזְבֵּחַ כְּעֶשְׂרִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה אִישׁ אֲחֹרֵיהֶם אֶל הֵיכַל יְהֹוָה וּפְנֵיהֶם קֵדְמָה וְהֵמָּה מִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶם קֵדְמָה לַשָּׁמֶשׁ׃ - And He brought me into the inner court of the House of Hashem, and behold, at the entrance to the Heichal of Hashem, between the Ulam and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward the Heichal of Hashem and their faces eastward, and they were prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun.
The inner court of the House of Hashem is the Azarah (Temple Courtyard). There Yechezkel sees about twenty-five men between the Ulam (Vestibule) and the altar. Our Sages say: they were sun-worshippers, bowing to the sun. Bowing to the sun requires facing east, whereas the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies) was to the west. It is worth noting: if the Beis HaMikdash were standing today, we would pray facing west, since prayer is directed toward the Holy of Holies. The entrance was from the east, from the direction of the Mount of Olives, and from there one would pass the Women's Courtyard, the Courtyard of the Israelites, the Courtyard of the Kohanim, and the Altar, and only then reach the Heichal and the Kodesh HaKodashim. Yet here these men stand facing east, toward the Mount of Olives, with their backs toward the Holy of Holies.
Regarding "with their backs toward the Heichal of Hashem," our Sages say: this teaches that their backsides were exposed, and they would bare themselves and defecate downward - with "downward" being a euphemism, meaning, Heaven forbid, toward the Beis HaMikdash, toward Hashem. It is painful even to utter these words. Nor is this comparable to the cult of Baal Peor, where they regarded the Peor idol with reverence and defecated before it as a rite of worship; here it was nothing other than complete contempt for the service of the Beis HaMikdash. Now we can understand why it is specifically here that the text says "greater abominations than these": for in the other forms of idolatry, there was at least some semblance of belief - they believed in the idol and therefore worshiped it; but such an act is the very nadir of degradation, and the preceding abominations bear no comparison to it.
How Did Such Great Men Sink to Such Depths?
On the surface, this is baffling: the members of the Sanhedrin were not simple folk; they were spiritually exalted figures. Rather, this comes to teach us that when the yetzer hara for idolatry was immense, even the greatest people could fall into its trap. Do not mistakenly think these were foolish people or that they acted without thought: they held organized philosophies and supposed "proofs" for their path. They were not people in need of hospitalization, but committed ideologues who could argue and defend their system. We have already seen Yirmiyahu's debate with the Judeans in Egypt, who claimed: behold, from the day we ceased burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, we have lacked everything and every evil has overtaken us. They always managed to find ostensible proof from reality.
Verse 17: The Branch to the Nose
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי הֲרָאִיתָ בֶן אָדָם הֲנָקֵל לְבֵית יְהוּדָה מֵעֲשׂוֹת אֶת הַתּוֹעֵבוֹת אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ פֹה כִּי מָלְאוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ חָמָס וַיָּשֻׁבוּ לְהַכְעִיסֵנִי וְהִנָּם שֹׁלְחִים אֶת הַזְּמוֹרָה אֶל אַפָּם׃ - And He said to me: Have you seen, Son of Man? Is it too light a thing for the House of Judah to commit the abominations that they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and repeatedly provoked Me to anger, and behold, they put the branch to their nose?
In other words: were their other sins not enough for them, that they come and provoke Me within My own House with these abominations? And what is the meaning of "they put the branch (zemorah) to their nose"? Rashi explains: they send to their nose the foul stench of that "branch" which they prune through the air emerging from the rectum - according to Rashi, zemorah is a euphemism for flatulence. The meaning is: while they bow to the sun and bare themselves and defecate, Heaven forbid, toward the Heichal of Hashem, they fail to realize that it rebounds right into their own faces, like a boomerang.
Radak explains: "they put the branch to their nose" means they burn incense in My House and direct the odor of their incense toward My nose, as it were. This incense burning is called a zemorah, an expression for a foul smell, and in his view too, zemorah refers to passing wind. The verse says "to their nose" rather than "to My nose" (a scribal euphemism), because it is fundamentally impossible to cause any harm to Hashem, blessed be He.
Malbim, in his characteristic approach, charts an entirely different path. According to him, the Holy One, blessed be He, rebukes them, saying: "Is it too light a thing for the House of Judah to commit the abominations that they have committed here" - the sin of idolatry is light in their eyes because they harbor a far graver sin: "that they have filled the land with violence," interpersonal transgressions. Idolatry is considered "light" when set beside what is even more severe - sins between man and his fellow. Not only that, but murder raged among them, for the First Beis HaMikdash was destroyed over the sins of idolatry, forbidden relations, and bloodshed. Our Sages describe how men would walk around with small concealed knives; someone would spot his fellow in the street, plunge a blade into his heart, and keep walking as though nothing had happened. People would be walking in the marketplace and suddenly someone would collapse dead; on inspection, a knife was found embedded in his chest, while no one had seen, no one had heard, no one knew, and the killer had already vanished. Truly horrific.
According to Malbim, "the zemorah" refers to a pruning sword, from the root of pruning and cutting: "and behold, they put the zemorah to their nose" - they cut down and prune one another, slaying each other in their wrath (af), akin to the phrase "and their spears into pruning hooks (mazmerot)." Through this conduct, they bring destruction and severance upon themselves. Malbim adds that the word "sholechim" (they thrust) is also a term for stabbing, for a "shelach" is a weapon - as in "one hand held the weapon (shelach)" in Nechemiah, and "he made weapons (shelach) and shields," as well as "they sent (vayeshalechu) the striped tunic," meaning they pierced it so it would look as though a wild beast had torn it. The meaning is thus: they thrust the murderous weapon, the zemorah, at one another, and in their fury, each stabs his fellow.
Malbim adds (in chapter 21) that the vast majority of the dead fell at the hands of their own brethren, far more than were killed by the enemy nations. Out of their mutual hatred, more casualties fell than were slain by Nebuchadnezzar - an absolute civil war.
Verse 18: Measure for Measure
וְגַם אֲנִי אֶעֱשֶׂה בְחֵמָה לֹא תָחוֹס עֵינִי וְלֹא אֶחְמֹל וְקָרְאוּ בְאׇזְנַי קוֹל גָּדוֹל וְלֹא אֶשְׁמַע אוֹתָם׃ - "Therefore I will also deal in fury; My eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them."
Measure for measure: just as they act with fury to destroy one another, so too I will act in fury. And just as they do not spare and show no mercy, and just as a loud outcry is made before them to no avail - so too will they cry out and call in My ears with a loud voice, and I will not listen to them.
In Summary:
The chapter lays before us a descending ladder of abominations committed in the very heart of the Beit HaMikdash: the image of jealousy that Menashe erected at the northern gate to appease the power of evil; the idols of the House of Israel carved upon the inner walls of the courtyard, with seventy elders of the Sanhedrin led by Yaazanyahu ben Shafan burning incense to them in the dark out of the belief that "Hashem does not see us; Hashem has forsaken the land"; the women weeping for the Tammuz; and worst of all - the twenty-five men whose backs were toward the Heichal of Hashem and their faces toward the sun, desecrating the Sanctuary with their very bodies. And above all these, the Malbim identifies the gravest transgression of all: "for they have filled the land with violence" - interpersonal sins and the bloodshed between brother and brother. It was they who thrust the pruning branch, the sword of destruction, into one another and brought ruin upon themselves. And corresponding to this - "Therefore I will also deal in fury," measure for measure. This entire vision was granted to Yechezkel in exile so that he would know and teach: the destruction of the Temple was no accident.