Ezekiel 8:16
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.
Cross-reference
Ezekiel 8:6 introduces the escalating abominations; this verse is the fourth and most severe — sun worship inside the temple.
Ezekiel 43:5 shows God's glory filling the inner court — opposite of the abomination of sun worship in the same place.
Ezekiel 23:35 says Israel 'cast me behind thy back' — physically enacted here by turning backs on the temple.
Ezekiel 5:11 declares judgment for defiling the sanctuary with abominations, a category that includes the sun worship here.
Ezekiel 9:6 has judgment beginning at the sanctuary because of the abominations shown here, including the sun worship.
Ezekiel 10:19 describes God’s glory departing through the east gate — the same direction the idolaters faced here, showing His abandonment.
Ezekiel 10:3 places cherubim in the inner court where God's glory appears — contrasting with the sun worship here.
Ezekiel 14:6 calls for repentance from idols — the very sin depicted here as they turn their backs on God to worship the sun.
Ezekiel 11:12 condemns Israel for following pagan customs — the sun worship here is a direct example of that.
Joel 2:17 shows priests weeping between porch and altar in repentance — contrasting the same location used here for sun worship.
2 Kings 23:11 records Josiah removing sun-worship artifacts from the temple, confirming this practice as a historical abomination.
2 Chronicles 29:6 explicitly says ancestors 'turned their backs' on God's dwelling — the same action depicted here.
Jeremiah 2:27 accuses Israel of turning their back to God — the physical gesture matching this sun worship.
Jeremiah 32:33 repeats the image of turning the back, not the face — directly echoing this scene.
Jeremiah 8:2 mentions the same sun worship as part of the host of heaven and its judgment, directly echoing this scene.
Deuteronomy 17:3 specifically outlaws sun worship — the exact abomination performed in the temple.
Deuteronomy 4:19 forbids worshiping the sun — the very sin committed here at the temple.
2 Kings 23:5 records Josiah removing sun-worshipping priests — showing this practice was systemic and later reformed.
Job 31:26-28 describes sun worship as a secret sin worthy of judgment, paralleling the public sun worship here.
1 Kings 8:29 describes God's eyes on the temple — here the worshipers face away, ignoring His presence.
Acts 7:42 accuses Israel of worshiping the host of heaven, a category that includes the sun worship seen here.
Acts 7:43 cites worship of the star Remphan, another astral idol, showing the same pattern of heavenly body worship.