Ezekiel 8:12
New International Version
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.’”

New Living Translation
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!’”

English Standard Version
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.’”

Berean Standard Bible
“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.’ ”

King James Bible
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 King James Version
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.’ ”

New American Standard Bible
Then He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each man in the rooms of his carved images? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has abandoned the land.’”

NASB 1995
Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’”

NASB 1977
Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, ‘Yahweh does not see us; Yahweh has forsaken the land.’”

Amplified Bible
Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, each man in his [secret] room of carved images? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has abandoned the land.’”

Christian Standard Bible
He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us. The LORD has abandoned the land.’ ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us. The LORD has abandoned the land.’”

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And he said to me: “See, son of man, the thing that the Elders of the house of Israel are doing in darkness, a man in his secret closet, and they were saying, ‘LORD JEHOVAH does not see us, because LORD JEHOVAH has left the land’”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And he said to me, Thou hast seen, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel do, each one of them in their secret chamber: because they have said, The Lord see not; The Lord has forsaken the earth.

Contemporary English Version
God said, "Ezekiel, do you see what horrible things Israel's leaders are doing in secret? They have filled their rooms with idols. And they say I can't see them, because they think I have already deserted Israel.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he add to me: Surely thou seest. O son of man, what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every one in private in his chamber: for they say: The Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth.

English Revised Version
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, the LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
God asked me, "Son of man, do you see what the leaders of the nation of Israel are doing in secret? Each of them is in the room where his god is, and each one of them is thinking, 'The LORD doesn't see me. The LORD has abandoned this land.'"

Good News Translation
God asked me, "Mortal man, do you see what the Israelite leaders are doing in secret? They are all worshiping in a room full of images. Their excuse is: 'The LORD doesn't see us! He has abandoned the country.'"

International Standard Version
the Spirit asked me, "Do you see, Son of Man, what the elders of Israel's house are doing in secret, each in the chamber of his own carved idol? They keep saying, 'God doesn't see us. The LORD has abandoned the land.'"

JPS Tanakh 1917
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: The LORD seeth us not, the LORD hath forsaken the land.'

Literal Standard Version
And He says to me, “Have you seen, son of man, that which elderly of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each in [the] inner chambers of his imagery, for they are saying, YHWH is not seeing us, YHWH has forsaken the land?”

Majority Standard Bible
“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.’”

New American Bible
Then he said to me: Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his idol chamber? They think: “The LORD cannot see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.”

NET Bible
He said to me, "Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images? For they think, 'The LORD does not see us! The LORD has abandoned the land!'"

New Revised Standard Version
Then he said to me, “Mortal, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of images? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’”

New Heart English Bible
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 his rooms of imagery? For they say, 'The LORD doesn't see us. The LORD has forsaken the land.'"

Webster's Bible Translation
Then said he to me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders 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.

World English Bible
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 his rooms of imagery? For they say, ‘Yahweh doesn’t see us. Yahweh has forsaken the land.’”

Young's Literal Translation
And He saith unto me, 'Hast thou seen, son of man, that which elders of the house of Israel are doing in darkness, each in the inner chambers of his imagery, for they are saying, Jehovah is not seeing us, Jehovah hath forsaken the land?'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Vision of Idolatry in the Temple
11Before 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. 12“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.’” 13Again, He told me, “You will see them committing even greater abominations.”…

Cross References
Job 22:13
Yet you say: 'What does God know? Does He judge through thick darkness?

Psalm 10:11
He says to himself, "God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees."

Psalm 14:1
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.

Isaiah 29:15
Woe 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?"

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.'

Ezekiel 8:13
Again, He told me, "You will see them committing even greater abominations."

Ezekiel 9:9
He replied, "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of perversity. For they say, 'The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see.'


Treasury of Scripture

Then said he to me, Son of man, have you 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 sees us not; the LORD has forsaken the earth.

hast

Ezekiel 8:6,15,17
He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations…

ancients

Ezekiel 8:11
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.

Ezekiel 14:1
Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.

Ezekiel 20:1
And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me.

in the

Ezekiel 8:7,8
And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall…

Job 24:13-17
They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof…

John 3:19,20
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil…

The Lord seeth

Ezekiel 9:9
Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.

Job 22:12,13
Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! …

Psalm 73:11
And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?

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Ancients Carved Chambers Committing Dark Earth Elders Forsaken House Imagery Images Israel Room
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Ancients Carved Chambers Committing Dark Earth Elders Forsaken House Imagery Images Israel Room
Ezekiel 8
1. Ezekiel, in a vision of God at Jerusalem
5. is shown the image of jealousy
7. the chambers of imagery
13. the mourners for Tammuz
16. the worshippers toward the sun
17. God's wrath for their idolatry














(12) Do in the dark, i.e., in secret. Hence the difficulty of access to the place of their worship. The ordinary idolatries of Israel, as of most heathen, consisted in the worship of the true, or of a supposed spiritual Deity, by means of sensible images (comp. Exodus 32:8). This was open and public enough at Jerusalem at this time; but the peculiar sin here portrayed was the actual worship of the creature by means of images and paintings. This, although joined in by the chief people of the nation, was practised secretly, perhaps, not only for the purpose of concealing its Egyptian tendencies from the Chaldaeans, but also to throw over it the charm of mystery, as was so common among the heathen.

Every man in the chambers of his imagery.--By "chambers of imagery" (the same word as in Leviticus 26:1) is intended chambers painted with images like the one now shown to the prophet. This was not a solitary case; on the contrary, it was but an example of what was done everywhere. The people stifled the voice of conscience then, as in every age, by saying "The LORD seeth us not," comp. Psalm 10:11; Psalm 94:7, &c. Yet, besides this, they argued, doubtless from the calamities that had already fallen upon their country, "the LORD hath forsaken the earth," or. rather, the land; and therefore they must have recourse to other help. But the prophet was to see yet worse things.

Verse 12 - Every man, etc. And this, after all, was but a sample of the prevalence of the Egyptian influence. Other elders had, in the dark, a like adytum, a like chamber of imagery, like the Latin lararium, filled. with a like cloud of incense. And though the name of the leader of the band might have warned them that the Lord was listening, they boasted, in their blindness, that Jehovah did not see them; he had forsaken the temple, and had fiche elsewhere. They thought of Jehovah as of a local deity who had abdicated. They were free to do as they liked without fear. The words are worth noting further as the first of a series of popular half proverbs, in which the thoughts of the people clothed themselves (see Ezekiel 11:3; Ezekiel 12:22; Ezekiel 18:2, 19; Ezekiel 33:10; Ezekiel 37:11). All these imply some personal knowledge of what was passing in Jerusalem.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Son
בֶן־ (ḇen-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of man,”
אָדָם֒ (’ā·ḏām)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being

He said
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to me,
אֵלַי֮ (’ê·lay)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

“do you see
הֲרָאִ֣יתָ (hă·rā·’î·ṯā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

what
אֲשֶׁ֨ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

the elders
זִקְנֵ֤י (ziq·nê)
Adjective - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2205: Old

of the house
בֵֽית־ (ḇêṯ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

are doing
עֹשִׂ֣ים (‘ō·śîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 6213: To do, make

in the darkness,
בַּחֹ֔שֶׁךְ (ba·ḥō·šeḵ)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2822: The dark, darkness, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness

each
אִ֖ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

at the shrine
בְּחַדְרֵ֣י (bə·ḥaḏ·rê)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2315: A chamber, room

of his own idol?
מַשְׂכִּית֑וֹ (maś·kî·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4906: A showpiece, figure, imagination

For
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

they are saying,
אֹמְרִ֗ים (’ō·mə·rîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

‘The LORD
יְהוָה֙ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3069: YHWH

does not
אֵ֤ין (’ên)
Adverb
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

see
רֹאֶ֣ה (rō·’eh)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

us;
אֹתָ֔נוּ (’ō·ṯā·nū)
Direct object marker | first person common plural
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

the LORD
יְהוָ֖ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3069: YHWH

has forsaken
עָזַ֥ב (‘ā·zaḇ)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5800: To loosen, relinquish, permit

the land.�”
הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land


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OT Prophets: Ezekiel 8:12 Then said he to me Son (Ezek. Eze Ezk)
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