New King James Version
Ezekiel 8:12
12Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ”
Ezekiel 8:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.
- New International Version (NIV)He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, 'The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.'"
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the leaders of Israel are doing with their idols in dark rooms? They are saying, ‘The Lord doesn’t see us; he has deserted our land!’”
Context of Ezekiel 8:12
10So I went in and saw, and there—every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls. 11And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ” 13And He said to me, “Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.” 14So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.
Read all of Ezekiel 8Ezekiel 8:12 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַי֮ הֲרָאִ֣יתָ בֶן־אָדָם֒ אֲשֶׁ֨ר זִקְנֵ֤י בֵֽית־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ עֹשִׂ֣ים בַּחֹ֔שֶׁךְ אִ֖ישׁ בְּחַדְרֵ֣י מַשְׂכִּית֑וֹ כִּ֣י אֹמְרִ֗ים אֵ֤ין יְהוָה֙ רֹאֶ֣ה אֹתָ֔נוּ עָזַ֥ב יְהוָ֖ה אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- he unto me, Sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- hast thou seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- what the ancientsזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
- of the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- in the darkחֹ֫שֶׁךְchôshek · darknessH2822
- every manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- in the chambersחֶ֫דֶרcheder · chamberH2315
- of his imageryמַשְׂכִּיתmaώkîyth · figureH4906
- The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- hath forsakenעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
- the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
Cross-references for Ezekiel 8:12
- Ezekiel 8:6Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.”
- Ezekiel 8:11And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up.
- Ezekiel 14:1Now some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.
- Ezekiel 20:1It came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me.
- Ephesians 5:12For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.
- Ezekiel 8:7So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall.
- Job 24:13“There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths.
- John 3:19And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
- Ezekiel 9:9Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!’
- Job 22:12“Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!
- Psalms 73:11And they say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
- Psalms 94:7Yet they say, “The Lord does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob understand.”
- Isaiah 29:15Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord, And their works are in the dark; They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”
Commentaries on Ezekiel 8:12
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12In the dark - Hidden in the secret places which the seer dug through the wall to discover. Chambers of his imagery - i. e., chambers painted with images.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 A secret place was, as it were, opened, where the prophet saw creatures painted on the walls, and a number of the elders of Israel worshipped before them. No superiority in worldly matters will preserve men from lust, or idolatries, when they are left to their own deceitful hearts; and those who are soon wearied in the service of God, often grudge no toil nor expense when following their superstitions. When hypocrites screen themselves behind…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-13The Lord saw the actions of Israel's leaders and shared this with his prophet (compare Luke 12:3).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. every man in ... chambers of ... imagery--The elders ("ancients") are here the representatives of the people, rather than to be regarded literally. Mostly, the leaders of heathen superstitions laughed at them secretly, while publicly professing them in order to keep the people in subjection. Here what is meant is that the people generally addicted themselves to secret idolatry, led on by their elders; there is no doubt, also, allusion to the…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 8:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries