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Easy-to-Read Version

Ezekiel 8:12

Then God said to me, "Son of man, do you see what the elders of Israel do in the dark? Each man has a special room for his own false god. They say to themselves, ‘The Lord cannot see us. The Lord left this country.'"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Blasphemy;   Confidence;   Government;   House;   Idolatry;   Infidelity;   Scoffing;   Sin;   Thompson Chain Reference - Concealment of Sin;   Concealment-Exposure;   Evil;   Imagination, Evil;   Mind, Carnal-Spiritual;   Secret Sins;   Sin;   Sins;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Visions;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Image;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Leadership;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Chamber;   Ezekiel, Book of;   Idol;   Imagery;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Chambers of Imagery;   Idol;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Chambers of Imagery;   Ezekiel;   Figured Stone;   Imagery, Chamber of;   Shrine of His Own Idol;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Name, Names;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elder;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Affliction;   Ancients;   Chambers of Imagery;   Imagery;   Images;   Jehoiakim;   Omniscience;   Temple;  

Parallel Translations

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.’”
Hebrew Names Version
Then said he to me, Son of man, have you seen what the Zakenim of the house of Yisra'el do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, the LORD doesn't see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.
King James Version
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.
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.'"
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.'"
New Century Version
Then he said to me, "Human, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the dark? Have you seen each man in the room of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord doesn't see us. The Lord has left 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.'"
World English Bible
Then said he to me, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, Yahweh doesn't see us; Yahweh has forsaken the land.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then saide hee vnto mee, Sonne of man, hast thou seene what the Ancients of the house of Israel do in the darke, euery one in the chamber of his imagerie? for they say, The Lorde seeth vs not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth.
New American Standard Bible (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.'"
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.'"
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.'"
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.
Complete Jewish Bible
Then he said to me, "Human being, did you see what the leaders of the house of Isra'el are doing in the dark, each one in the room of his own carved image, because they say, ‘ Adonai can't see us; Adonai has left the land.'?"
Darby Translation
And he said unto me, Hast thou seen, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every one in his chambers of imagery? for they say, Jehovah seeth us not; Jehovah hath forsaken the land.
George Lamsa Translation
Then he said to me, Son of man, do you see the thing which the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, every man in his secret chamber? For they say, The LORD does not see us; because the LORD has forsaken the earth.
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.'"
Lexham English Bible
And he said to me, "Have you seen, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the inner rooms of his idol, for they are saying, ‘Yahweh is not seeing us; Yahweh has abandoned the land.'"
Literal Translation
And He said to me, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each man in the rooms of his image? For they are saying, Jehovah does not see us, Jehovah has forsaken the earth.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde he vnto me: Thou sonne off man, hast thou sene what the Senatours off the house off Israel do secretly, euery one in his chambre? For they saye: Tush, the LORDE seth vs not, the LORDE regardeth not the worlde.
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.
Bible in Basic English
And he said to me, Son of man, have you seen what the responsible men of the children of Israel do in the dark, every man in his room of pictured images? for they say, The Lord does not see us; the Lord has gone away from the land.
JPS Old Testament (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.'
King James Version (1611)
Then said he vnto me, Sonne of man, hast thou seene what the ancients of the house of Israel doe in the darke, euery man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth vs not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then sayde he vnto me, Thou sonne of man, hast thou seene what the auncientes of the house of Israel do secretly, euery one in the chaumber of his imagerie? for they say, The Lorde seeth vs not, the Lorde hath forsaken the earth.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
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.
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.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he seide to me, Certis, sone of man, thou seest what thingis the eldere men of the hous of Israel doen in derknessis, ech man in the hid place of his bed; for thei seiyn, The Lord seeth not vs, the Lord hath forsake the lond.
Update Bible 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 his chambers of imagery? for they say, Yahweh does not see us; Yahweh 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.
New English Translation
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 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 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!'"
New Life Bible
Then He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what the leaders of the people of Israel are doing without anyone seeing them? They are worshiping in a room full of false gods. For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us. The Lord has left the land.'"
New Revised Standard
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.'"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen Son of man what the elders of the house of Israel, are doing in the dark, every man in his image-chambers? for they are saying - Yahweh doth not see us! Yahweh hath forsaken the land!
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said 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.
Revised 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, every man in his room of pictures? For they say, 'The LORD does not see us, the LORD 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?'
THE MESSAGE
He said, "Son of man, do you see what the elders are doing here in the dark, each one before his favorite god-picture? They tell themselves, ‘ God doesn't see us. God has forsaken the country.'"

Contextual Overview

7 So I went to the entrance to the courtyard, and I saw a hole in the wall. 8 God said to me, "Son of man, make a hole in the wall." So I made a hole in the wall, and there I saw a door. 9 Then God said to me, "Go in and look at the terrible, evil things that the people are doing here." 10 So I went in and looked. I saw statues of all kinds of reptiles and animals that you hate to think about. The statues were the filthy idols that the people of Israel worshiped. There were pictures of those animals carved all around on every wall! 11 Then I noticed that Jaazaniah son of Shaphan and the 70 elders of Israel were there with the people worshiping in that place. There they were, right at the front of the people, and each leader had his own incense dish in his hand. The smoke from the burning incense was rising into the air. 12 Then God said to me, "Son of man, do you see what the elders of Israel do in the dark? Each man has a special room for his own false god. They say to themselves, ‘The Lord cannot see us. The Lord left this country.'"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

hast: Ezekiel 8:6, Ezekiel 8:15, Ezekiel 8:17

ancients: Ezekiel 8:11, Ezekiel 14:1, Ezekiel 20:1, Ephesians 5:12

in the: Ezekiel 8:7, Ezekiel 8:8, Job 24:13-17, John 3:19, John 3:20

The Lord seeth: Ezekiel 9:9, Job 22:12, Job 22:13, Psalms 73:11, Psalms 94:7-10, Isaiah 29:15

Reciprocal: Genesis 6:5 - every imagination 2 Kings 17:9 - secretly Job 24:15 - No eye Psalms 10:11 - God Psalms 64:5 - Who Psalms 86:14 - and have Psalms 90:8 - Thou Isaiah 3:2 - the ancient Isaiah 3:8 - because Isaiah 28:15 - We have Isaiah 44:13 - that it may Isaiah 47:10 - thou hast said Jeremiah 16:17 - General Jeremiah 19:1 - the ancients of the people Jeremiah 23:24 - hide Ezekiel 21:14 - entereth Amos 8:2 - Amos Zephaniah 1:12 - The Lord Malachi 2:17 - Where

Cross-References

Genesis 8:2
Rain stopped falling from the sky, and water stopped flowing from under the earth.
Genesis 8:3
The water that covered the earth began to go down. After 150 days the water was low enough that the boat touched land again. The boat stopped on one of the mountains of Ararat. This was the 17th day of the seventh month.
Genesis 8:5
The water continued to go down, and by the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains were above the water.
Genesis 8:6
Forty days later Noah opened the window he had made in the boat.
Genesis 8:7
Then he sent out a raven. The raven flew from place to place until the ground was dry and the water was gone.
Genesis 8:8
Noah also sent out a dove. He wanted it to find dry ground. He wanted to know if water still covered the earth.
Genesis 8:10
After seven days Noah again sent out the dove.
Psalms 27:14
Wait for the Lord 's help. Be strong and brave, and wait for the Lord 's help.
Isaiah 8:17
The Lord has turned away from the family of Jacob. But I will wait for him. I trust that he will come to save us.
Isaiah 25:9
At that time people will say, "Here is our God! He is the one we have been waiting for. He has come to save us. We have been waiting for our Lord . So we will rejoice and be happy when he saves us."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said he unto me, son of man, hast thou seen,.... Here should be a stop, as the accent "segolta" shows; hast thou taken notice of, hast thou considered, what thou hast seen, the amazing shocking abominations committed by these men? it follows, and the question is to be repeated, "hast thou seen"

what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark? their deeds being evil, such as will not bear the light, of which they had reason to be ashamed before men; and which they imagined would not be seen by the Lord, though the darkness and the light are both alike to him:

every man in the chambers of his imagery? the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, "in his hidden" or "secret chamber"; and the Vulgate Latin version, "in the hidden place of his bedchamber". The Targum is,

"in the chamber of the house of his bed;''

in his bedchamber; that is, in those chambers of the temple, which belonged to the priests and Levites, on the walls of which were portrayed the images and pictures of their gods. Here they had their secret rites or mysteries performed, in imitation of the Heathens; who had the several mysteries of their religion privately observed; to which none were admitted but those that were initiated into them; as those of Osiris among the Egyptians; of Ceres with the Grecians; and of Bona Dea among the Romans; as Junius observes. Though some interpret this of the imaginations of their minds, according to which they framed to themselves deities, and a form of worship;

for they say, the Lord seeth not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth; this they gave as a reason of their idolatry, because the Lord took no notice of them, did not help them when in distress; but, as they concluded, had forsaken them; therefore they betook themselves to the gods of the Egyptians, Syrians, and other nations, for their assistance and protection: for these words are not the language of Epicureans, or such who deny the providence of God in general; who think that God takes no notice of the lower world, only of the upper one, as Kimchi and others interpret them; for these elders of Israel were not so ignorant and stupid as to deny the general providence of God, only distrusted his particular care of them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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.


 
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