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.’”
Parallel translations
- 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.
- BSB “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.’”
- 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.’ ”
- NASB 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.’ ”
- 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!’”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God reveals the elders' secret reasoning: they think the Lord neither sees them nor cares for the land. Their practical atheism fuels their idolatry.
Overview
Worshiping "in the dark" expresses both literal secrecy and spiritual blindness. Their claim that "Yahweh doesn't see" denies God's omniscience and providence, the false comfort that lets sin flourish. Ironically, God sees and exposes the very deeds they thought hidden. The truth that God sees all should drive sinners not to despair but to the One who bore judgment so the seeing God could justly forgive.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Isa 29:15Woe to those who deeply hide their counsel from Yahweh, and whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us?” and “Who knows us?”
- Ezek 9:9Then he said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perversion; for they say, ‘Yahweh has forsaken the land, and Yahweh doesn’t see.’
- Ezek 8:15Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? You will again see yet greater abominations than these.”
- Ps 10:11He says in his heart, “God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will never see it.”
- Eph 5:12For the things which are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of.
- John 3:19–20This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.
- Ezek 8:17Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger. Behold, they put the branch to their nose.
- Ezek 8:6–8He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they do? Even the great abominations that the house of Israel commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? But you will again see yet other great abominations.”
- Job 24:13–17“These are of those who rebel against the light. They don’t know its ways, nor stay in its paths.
- Job 22:12–13“Isn’t God in the heights of heaven? See the height of the stars, how high they are!
- Ps 94:7–10They say, “Yah will not see, neither will Jacob’s God consider.”
- Ps 73:11They say, “How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
- Ezek 8:11Seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel stood before them. In the middle of them Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan stood, every man with his censer in his hand; and the smell of the cloud of incense went up.
- Ezek 20:1In the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of Yahweh, and sat before me.
- Ezek 14:1Then came certain of the elders of Israel to me, and sat before me.
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The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 8:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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