Ezekiel 8:12
in Ezekiel 8“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, Jehovah seeth us not; Jehovah hath forsaken the land.
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.
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This verse in Ezekiel 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In 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.
This site's exposition
every kind of crawling creature
on Ezekiel 8:10-13
Engraved on the wall is “every kind of crawling creature and detestable beast,” and before it stand seventy elders. “The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.” The men charged with teaching the law worship “in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol.”
This site's exposition
in the darkness
The elders worship in the dark, each before his own idol, and say the LORD has forsaken the land. They think He cannot see them. Matthew Henry notes that they hid it to keep their places and their good name.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 12) And he said to me: Surely you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel do in darkness, each one in the secrecy of his room. For they say: The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land. From this, he says, it is shown what each one does in his own room when they gather together in the temple. But according to the anagogy, it can be better understood that some leaders of the Churches do in darkness things that are even shameful to speak of.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then said he unto me, son of man, hast thou seen,....
That it was done in the dark; for sinful works are works of darkness. They concealed it, lest they should lose their places, or at least their credit. There is a great deal of secret wickedness in the world, which the day will declare, the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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 mysteries, as in the worship of Isis in Egypt, the Eleusinian in Greece, &c., to which the initiated alone were admitted.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan He was of high esteem, and his generation was learning from him; therefore, He took particular offense at him.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלַי֮ | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הֲרָאִ֣יתָ | haraita | ¿ have you seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָם֒ | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| זִקְנֵ֤י | ziknei | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| בֵֽית־ | veit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עֹשִׂ֣ים | ʾosim | [are] doing | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בַּחֹ֔שֶׁךְ | bachoshekh | in the darkness | H2822 → | |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בְּחַדְרֵ֣י | bechadrei | in [the] rooms of | H2315 → | |
| מַשְׂכִּית֑וֹ | maskito | carved image his | H4906 → | |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֹמְרִ֗ים | ʾomerim | [they are] saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵ֤ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| רֹאֶ֣ה | roeh | [is] seeing | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֹתָ֔נוּ | ʾotanu | <obj.> us | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עָזַ֥ב | ʾazav | he has forsaken | H5800 → | 215 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלַי֮to me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
הֲרָאִ֣יתָ¿ have you seen
haraitaH7200 →1300 times
בֶן־O son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָם֒humankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
אֲשֶׁ֨ר[that] which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
זִקְנֵ֤י[the] elders of
zikneiH2205 →178 times
בֵֽית־[the] house of
veit-H1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עֹשִׂ֣ים[are] doing
ʾosimH6213 →2628 times
בַּחֹ֔שֶׁךְin the darkness
bachoshekhH2822 →
אִ֖ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
בְּחַדְרֵ֣יin [the] rooms of
bechadreiH2315 →
מַשְׂכִּית֑וֹcarved image his
maskitoH4906 →
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֹמְרִ֗ים[they are] saying
ʾomerimH559 →5305 times
אֵ֤יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
רֹאֶ֣ה[is] seeing
roehH7200 →1300 times
אֹתָ֔נוּ<obj.> us
ʾotanuH853 →10935 times
עָזַ֥בhe has forsaken
ʾazavH5800 →215 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ephesians 5:12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:3
But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed.
- Romans 2:16
on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel.
- Jeremiah 23:24
“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
- Ephesians 5:3
Through
Isaiah 29:15Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”
it leads to
- Isaiah 47:10
You were secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray; you told yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
- Isaiah 30:1
“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
- Psalms 94:7–9
They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.”
- Isaiah 28:15
For you said, “We have made a covenant with death; we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol. When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us, because we have made lies our…
- Isaiah 47:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Ezekiel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.