Ezekiel 8:17
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.
The verse pronounces God's verdict on a vision given to Ezekiel while he was among the captives in Babylon in the sixth year of Zedekiah's reign, uncovering abominations being practiced in Jerusalem within the gate of the Lord's house and even in the inner court. A glorious Being conducts Ezekiel through this revelation of wickedness in high places and confronts him with the question whether the house of Judah counts the abominations committed there a light or small matter. Behind that question lie chambers of imagery covered with every form of creeping things and abominable beasts and idols, where incense is offered in hidden chambers of the temple. Seventy ancients of the house of Israel present that incense while flattering themselves that the Lord does not see them and has forsaken the earth.
Women are seen weeping for Tammuz at the gate leading from the outer to the inner court. About twenty-five men stand between the porch and the altar with their backs toward the temple and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun. Beyond the sanctuary sins, Judah has filled the land with violence and has turned back to provoke God to anger, defiantly putting the branch to the nose. The answer implied is that these sins are not light, and they call for dealing in fury without sparing or pity, with refusal to hear even when distressed people cry loudly for mercy.