Ezekiel 8:12 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.
Ezekiel 8:12 nkjv
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.' "
Ezekiel 8:12 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.'?"
Ezekiel 8:12 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.'"
Ezekiel 8:12 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!'"
Ezekiel 8 12 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel 8:12 | "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 in his own room of imagery? For they say, “The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.”'” | Contextual Explanation: Idolatry |
| Isaiah 29:15 | "Woe to those who hide their counsel deep from the LORD, and whose deeds are done in the dark, saying, 'Who sees us?' 'Who knows us?'" | Parallel to hidden sin |
| Jeremiah 7:30 | "For the people of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the LORD. They have set their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to make it unclean." | Temple defilement |
| Jeremiah 23:24 | "Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD." | God's omnipresence |
| Micah 3:3 | "They also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron." | Exploitation and cruelty |
| Psalm 36:1-2 | "The transgression of the wicked tells the inward thought of my heart: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For it smooths itself in his own eyes, so that he does not find out his iniquity and hate it." | Concealing sin |
| Romans 1:28 | "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done." | Rejection of God's knowledge |
| 1 Corinthians 4:5 | "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart." | God's final judgment |
| Job 24:13-17 | "‘There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths. The murderer rises in the morning, kills the poor and needy, and in the night becomes like a thief. The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, “No eye will see me,” and he veils his face." | Secret sinners |
| John 3:19-20 | "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed." | Love of darkness |
| Revelation 18:7 | "As she glorifies herself and lives in luxury, so give her a measure of torment and suffering. ‘In her heart she says, “I sit as a queen; I am no widow, and I shall never see mourning.”'" | False sense of security |
| Exodus 20:4-5 | "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God..." | Prohibition of idols |
| Deuteronomy 18:9-14 | "When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable ways of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who consults the dead. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive them out before you." | Prohibited practices |
| Ezekiel 6:11-13 | "Go, say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Struck down! Fallen by the sword! By plagues and by famine shall the fallen lie dead! Those who are far off shall die by the famine, and those who are near shall fall by the sword. And when I have spent my indignation upon them, you shall know that I am the LORD; when their scattered ones are among the nations, and are spread abroad among the countries, then they shall know that I have been broken by their adulterous hearts that turned from me, and by their eyes that played the whore after their idols. And they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have done in all their abominations." | Consequences of sin |
| Ezekiel 14:3-5 | "Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart and have fixed the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Anyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet, I the LORD will answer him as I will, according to the multitude of his idols..." | Idols in the heart |
| Isaiah 44:18-20 | "They know not, nor do they comprehend, for he has shut their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or intelligence to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; over its coals I ate bread; I roasted meat and have eaten it. And shall I make the remainder of it an abomination? Shall I fall down west it?” He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has turned him aside, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”" | Blindness from idolatry |
| Romans 2:11 | "For God shows no partiality." | Impartiality of God |
| Galatians 5:19-21 | "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." | Works of the flesh |
| Ephesians 5:5 | "For you may be sure of this, that whoever is greedy and impure or covetous, (who is an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." | Greed as idolatry |
| 1 Peter 4:8 | "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." | Importance of love |
Ezekiel 8 verses
Ezekiel 8 12 Meaning
The verse describes a scene where elders of Israel are seen by Ezekiel in the vision. They are engaged in secret worship in the darkness, with each elder performing their own act of idolatry in their hidden chambers, further deepening their sin and rebellion against God.
Ezekiel 8 12 Context
Ezekiel is in exile in Babylon and receives a vision from God about the spiritual state of Jerusalem and its people. This chapter details severe idolatry happening within the temple complex itself. The specific verse highlights a disturbing practice where elders of Israel are secretly committing idolatry in their own private rooms, hidden from public view. This signifies a profound apostasy and a belief that God is either unaware of their actions or has abandoned them. The historical context is crucial, as it reveals the deep moral and spiritual corruption that led to the eventual destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile. The elders, expected to be spiritual leaders, are instead engaging in the very practices God condemned.
Ezekiel 8 12 Word analysis
And he said to me: (Hebrew: וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי - wayyomer elai) - Indicates a continuation of the divine message conveyed through the angelic guide in Ezekiel's vision.
Son of man: (Hebrew: בֶּן־אָדָם - ben adam) - A frequent self-designation of God to Ezekiel, emphasizing his humanity in contrast to the divine authority of the speaker. It grounds the message in human experience.
Do you see: (Hebrew: הַרְאֶה אתה - har'eh attah) - A direct question challenging Ezekiel to engage with and process the vision he is receiving. It emphasizes the visual and cognitive aspect of prophetic experience.
what the elders of the house of Israel: (Hebrew: אֶת־אֲשֶׁר־זִקְנֵי בֵית־יִשְׂרָאֵל - et-asher-ziqnei beit-Yisra'el) - Points to the respected leaders of the nation, whose sin is particularly grievous as they should be setting a righteous example. Their actions highlight systemic corruption.
are doing: (Hebrew: עֹשִׂים - osim) - Present participle, indicating continuous action; their wicked deeds are ongoing.
in the dark: (Hebrew: בַמַּחְשַׁכִּים - bamachshachim) - Signifies secrecy, hiddenness, and a deliberate avoidance of God's scrutiny. Darkness here is a metaphor for sin and concealed rebellion.
each in his own room of imagery: (Hebrew: אִישׁ אִישׁ בַּחֲדָרָיו וּבְחָזֵי לֹאמֶר - ish ish bachadarav u'vchazei lo'mer)
- each man, each man: (Hebrew: אִישׁ אִישׁ - ish ish) - Emphasizes the personal and individualized nature of their sin; each one participates actively in their specific idolatrous practice.
- in his rooms: (Hebrew: בַּחֲדָרָיו - bachadarav) - Refers to private chambers or inner rooms, highlighting the privacy and secrecy of their worship.
- of imagery: (Hebrew: וּבְחָזֵי לֹאמֶר - u'vchazei lo'mer) - The meaning of chazeh here is debated. It can refer to a "chamber of imagery," "secret place," or potentially a "secret sight" or vision. In the context of idolatry, it strongly suggests chambers adorned with idols or pictures/symbols for idolatrous worship. The plurality of "imagery" may indicate a variety of objects of worship in each room.
For they say: (Hebrew: כִּי־הֵמָּה אֹמְרִים - ki-hemmah omerim) - Introduces the motivation or rationalization behind their actions.
The LORD does not see us: (Hebrew: יְהוָה לֹא יִרְאֵנוּ - Yahweh lo yir'enu) - A denial of God's omniscience and presence, a direct rejection of divine oversight, stemming from a guilty conscience or deliberate defiance.
the LORD has forsaken the land: (Hebrew: יְהוָה עֲזָבָנִי אֶת־הָאָרֶץ - Yahweh azavaní et-ha'aretz) - This is a crucial part. The pronoun shift from "us" to "the land" (or potentially interpreted as "He has forsaken me, this land") implies a belief that God's presence has departed, rendering their sin inconsequential in His eyes, or justifying their own actions as a response to perceived divine abandonment. The Hebrew can be understood as "The LORD has forsaken the land" (implying God is not present to witness or judge).
Words Group Analysis:
- "The elders...in the dark, each in his own room of imagery": This phrase collectively illustrates the hidden, personal, and varied nature of their idolatry. It’s not just an occasional lapse but a systemic, ingrained practice within the leadership, conducted in secrecy.
- "The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.": This declaration encapsulates their denial of divine awareness and presence, revealing a core theological rebellion against the God of Israel who promised to be with His people. It is a self-serving justification for their wickedness.
Ezekiel 8 12 Bonus section
The phrase "rooms of imagery" is particularly chilling. It suggests private spaces filled with various representations or symbols used for pagan worship. This isn't a single instance but a widespread phenomenon among the leaders, each participating in their own prescribed form of illicit devotion. This practice contrasts sharply with the exclusivity required in worshipping Yahweh, the God of Israel. The people believed that God's presence had departed, mirroring a spiritual exile even before the physical one. Their internalizing of idols ("set up their idols in their heart," Ezekiel 14:3) led to outward manifestations in these secret chambers. Their blindness is a self-inflicted condition resulting from a chosen separation from divine truth.
Ezekiel 8 12 Commentary
This verse starkly portrays the depth of Israel's apostasy. The elders, those who should uphold God's law and guide the people, are secretly engaged in idolatry within their private spaces, described as "rooms of imagery." This signifies a corrupt heart and a deliberate turning away from God's covenant. Their justification—that God cannot see them or has abandoned the land—is a theological lie used to rationalize their wicked behavior. They are hiding their sin in the dark, thinking they are unseen, but the vision reveals that God sees all. This spiritual blindness and defiance demonstrate a profound disconnect from their identity as God's people, leading directly to the judgment described in subsequent verses. Their perceived abandonment by God is actually a consequence of their own sin, and their hidden practices demonstrate a rebellion against God’s omnipresence and sovereignty.