Ezekiel 9:6

begin at my sanctuary Judgment begins at the house of God. The Lord had returned for a moment to the place of his abode in the temple, and from there the judgment went forth; Amos 1:2, "The Lord shall roar out of Zion and give forth his voice from Jerusalem." There he was most present, there most fully known, there if possible most forgotten and provoked, and there his holiness and godhead will assert themselves with most terribleness against the sins of men.

the ancient men the elders, those mentioned, ch. Ezekiel 8:16.