Ezekiel 8:11

11 In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.

Ezekiel 8:11 in Other Translations

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.

11 And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up.

11 Seventy leaders of Israel were standing there with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan in the center. Each of them held an incense burner, from which a cloud of incense rose above their heads.

11 In the middle of the room were seventy of the leaders of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing in the middle. Each held his censer with the incense rising in a fragrant cloud.

11 Seventy elders from the house of Israel were standing before them, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had an incense burner in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising up.

Ezekiel 8:11 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 8:11

And there stood before them
Before the pictures, as the Vulgate Latin version expresses it, praying, sacrificing, and offering incense unto them: seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel;
the whole sanhedrim, or great court of judicature among the Jews, as Kimchi; or at least there is an allusion to that number, which were appointed in Moses' time to be officers over the people, and govern and direct them, ( Numbers 11:16 ) ; which shows how sadly depraved and corrupted the state was, that not the common people only, but the civil magistrates, the chief rulers and governors, were given to idolatry; and those that should have taught the people the right way led them wrong; and it is still a further aggravation of their crime that they should do this in the chambers of the priests and Levites, where they ought not to have been: and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan;
who was either the prince of the sanhedrim, or at least a person of great note and esteem; and shows the corruption to be general, from the least to the greatest: Shaphan was a scribe in Josiah's time, who had a son named Ahikam, perhaps the father of this, ( 2 Kings 22:3 2 Kings 22:12 ) ; in ( Ezekiel 11:2 ) ; he is said to be the son of Azur, and one of the princes of the people: with every man his censer in his hand;
to offer incense to the idols portrayed on the wall; and which they did, for it follows: and a thick cloud of incense went up;
there were many that offered; and perhaps they offered a large quantity, being very liberal and profuse in this kind of devotion to their idols.

Ezekiel 8:11 In-Context

9 And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.”

10 So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel.

11 In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.

12 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.’ ”

13 Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.”

Cross References

• 1. S Exodus 3:16
• 2. S Leviticus 10:1; Numbers 16:17
• 3. Numbers 16:35; S Jeremiah 44:5
• 4. Ezekiel 11:1-2