Ezekiel 8:11
in Ezekiel 8Before them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censer in his hand; and the odor of the cloud of incense went up.
KJV
And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.
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This verse in Ezekiel 8
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Seventy men - Compare Exo 24:9-10. The vision may have pointed to the contrast between the times. The number “seven” is symbolic of the covenant between Yahweh and His people, and so the “seventy” men exhibit forcibly the breach of the covenant. It is a figure of the covert idolatry of the whole people.
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
seventy elders of the house of Israel
Seventy elders of the house of Israel stand before the painted walls, each with a censer. John Wesley notes that Shaphan helped Josiah reform the worship of God in 2 Kings 22, while his son Jaazaniah now leads its corruption. Those who should guard the faith burn incense to idols.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 11.) And seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and Jezoniah the son of Saphan stood among them who were standing before the paintings, and each one had a censer in his hand, and the smoke of incense rose from the censers. When it says that seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel held censers in their hands, it shows that there were many other priests who did not do this, but perhaps were held back by other sins.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Seventy - Heads of the tribes or families, who should have been examples of true religion, not ringleaders in idolatry. Shaphan - Mentioned 2 Kings xxii, 9. Shaphan was forward in reforming under Josiah and his son is as forward in corrupting the worship of God.
): There were seventy men of the elders of Israel offering incense to these painted idols. Here was a great number of idolaters strengthening one another's hands in this wickedness; though it was in a private chamber, and the meeting industriously concealed, yet here were seventy men engaged in it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And there stood before them,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
How awfully it aggravates the national sin, that the seventy, once admitted to the Lord's secret council (Ps 25:14), should now, "in the dark," enter "the secret" of the wicked (Ge 49:6), those judicially bound to suppress idolatry being the ringleaders of it!
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan - Shaphan was a scribe, or what some call comptroller of the temple, in the days of Josiah; and Jaazaniah his son probably succeeded him in this office. He was at the head of this band of idolaters.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
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
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשִׁבְעִ֣ים | veshivim | and seventy | H7657 → | |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מִזִּקְנֵ֣י | miziknei | from [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| בֵֽית־ | veit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִ֠שְׂרָאֵל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְיַאֲזַנְיָ֨הוּ | veyaazanyahu | and Jaazaniah | H2970 → | |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שָׁפָ֜ן | shafan | Shaphan | H8227 → | |
| עֹמֵ֤ד | ʾomed | [was] standing | H5975 → | 521 times |
| בְּתוֹכָם֙ | betokham | in midst of them | H8432 → | 418 times |
| עֹמְדִ֣ים | ʾomedim | [were] standing | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם | lifneihem | <to> before them | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְאִ֥ישׁ | veish | and everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מִקְטַרְתּ֖וֹ | miktarto | censer his | H4730 → | |
| בְּיָד֑וֹ | beyado | [was] in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וַעֲתַ֥ר | vaatar | and [the] fragrance of | H6282 → | |
| עֲנַֽן־ | ʾanan- | [the] cloud of | H6051 → | 87 times |
| הַקְּטֹ֖רֶת | haketoret | <the> incense | H7004 → | 60 times |
| עֹלֶֽה׃ | ʾoleh | [was] going up | H5927 → | 890 times |
וְשִׁבְעִ֣יםand seventy
veshivimH7657 →
אִ֣ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מִזִּקְנֵ֣יfrom [the] elders of
mizikneiH2205 →178 times
בֵֽית־[the] house of
veit-H1004 →2046 times
יִ֠שְׂרָאֵלIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְיַאֲזַנְיָ֨הוּand Jaazaniah
veyaazanyahuH2970 →
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
שָׁפָ֜ןShaphan
shafanH8227 →
עֹמֵ֤ד[was] standing
ʾomedH5975 →521 times
בְּתוֹכָם֙in midst of them
betokhamH8432 →418 times
עֹמְדִ֣ים[were] standing
ʾomedimH5975 →521 times
לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם<to> before them
lifneihemH6440 →2123 times
וְאִ֥ישׁand everyone
veishH376 →1663 times
מִקְטַרְתּ֖וֹcenser his
miktartoH4730 →
בְּיָד֑וֹ[was] in hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 times
וַעֲתַ֥רand [the] fragrance of
vaatarH6282 →
עֲנַֽן־[the] cloud of
ʾanan-H6051 →87 times
הַקְּטֹ֖רֶת<the> incense
haketoretH7004 →60 times
עֹלֶֽה׃[was] going up
ʾolehH5927 →890 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
Exodus 24:1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders—and you are to worship at a distance.
it leads to
- Numbers 11:16
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 11:16
Through
Numbers 11:16Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them…
it leads to
- Exodus 24:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders—and you are to worship at a distance.
- Exodus 24:9
Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
- Luke 10:1
After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place He was about to visit.
- Deuteronomy 16:18
You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
- Exodus 24:1
Through
Numbers 16:35And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
it leads to
- Numbers 26:10
And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire consumed 250 men. They serve as a warning sign.
- Leviticus 10:2
So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD.
- Psalms 106:18
Then fire blazed through their company; flames consumed the wicked.
- Numbers 26:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
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About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.