Ezekiel 8 · Verse 11

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 8:11, King James Version

Ezekiel 8:11 in other translations

BSBBefore 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.
WEBSeventy 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.
ASVAnd there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censer in his hand; and the odor of the cloud of incense went up.
YLTand seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel--and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing in their midst--are standing before them, and each his censer in his hand, and the abundance of the cloud of perfume is going up.
DARBYAnd there stood before them seventy men of the elders 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.
BBEAnd before them seventy of the responsible men of the children of Israel had taken their places, every man with a vessel for burning perfumes in his hand, and in the middle of them was Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan; and a cloud of smoke went up from the burning perfume.
WebsterAnd there stood before them seventy men of the elders 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.

What does Ezekiel 8:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
11. seventy men--the seventy members composing the Sanhedrim, or great council of the nation, the origination of which we find in the seventy elders, representatives of the congregation, who went up with Moses to the mount to behold the glory of Jehovah, and to witness the secret transactions relating to the establishment of the covenant; also, in the seventy elders appointed to share the burden of the people with Moses. How awfully it aggravates the national sin, that the seventy, once admitted to the Lord's secret council (Psa 25:14), should now, "in the dark," enter "the secret" of the wicked (Ge 49:6), those judicially bound to suppress idolatry being the ringleaders of it! Jaazaniah--perhaps chief of the seventy: son of Shaphan, the scribe who read to Josiah the book of the law; the spiritual privileges of the son (2Ki 22:10-14) increased his guilt. The very name means, "Jehovah hears," giving the lie to the unbelief which virtually said (Eze 9:9), "The Lord seeth us not," &c. (compare Psa 10:11, 14; 50:21; 94:7, 9). The offering of incense belonged not to the elders, but to the priests; this usurpation added to the guilt of the former. cloud of incense--They spared no expense for their idols. Oh, that there were the same liberality toward the cause of God!

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 11 Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan - Shaphan was a scribe, or what some call comptroller of the temple, in the days of Josiah; and Jaazaniah his son probably succeeded him in this office. He was at the head of this band of idolaters.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 8:7-12

A secret place was, as it were, opened, where the prophet saw creatures painted on the walls, and a number of the elders of Israel worshipped before them. No superiority in worldly matters will preserve men from lust, or idolatries, when they are left to their own deceitful hearts; and those who are soon wearied in the service of God, often grudge no toil nor expense when following their superstitions. When…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 8:7-12 →

Ezekiel 8:11 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְשִׁבְעִ֣יםve.shiv.'Imand seventyH7657
אִ֣ישׁ'ishmanH376
מִזִּקְנֵ֣יmi.zik.Neifrom [the] elders ofH2205
בֵֽית\־veit-[the] house ofH1004
יִ֠שְׂרָאֵלYis.ra.'elIsraelH3478
וְיַאֲזַנְיָ֨הוּve.ya.'a.zan.Ya.huand JaazaniahH2970
בֶן\־ven-[the] son ofH1121
שָׁפָ֜ןsha.FanShaphanH8227
עֹמֵ֤ד'o.Med[was] standingH5975
בְּתוֹכָם֙be.to.Khamin midst of themH8432
עֹמְדִ֣ים'o.me.Dim[were] standingH5975
לִפְנֵיהֶ֔םlif.nei.Hem<to> before themH6440
וְאִ֥ישׁve.'Ishand everyoneH376
מִקְטַרְתּ֖וֹmik.tar.Tocenser hisH4730
בְּיָד֑וֹbe.ya.Do[was] in hand hisH3027
וַעֲתַ֥רva.'a.Tarand [the] fragrance ofH6282
עֲנַֽן\־'a.nan-[the] cloud ofH6051
הַקְּטֹ֖רֶתha.ke.To.ret<the> incenseH7004
עֹלֶֽה\׃'o.Leh[was] going upH5927

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezekiel 8:11

  • Numbers 11:16

    And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.

  • Numbers 16:17

    And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.

  • Numbers 16:35

    And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

  • Numbers 11:25

    And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.

  • Exodus 24:1

    And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.

  • Jeremiah 19:1

    Thus saith the Lord, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests;

  • 2 Kings 22:3

    And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying,

  • 2 Chronicles 26:19

    Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense altar.

  • 2 Kings 25:22

    And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.

  • 2 Kings 22:8

    And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

  • Daniel 9:8

    O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

  • 2 Kings 22:14

    So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
seventy.
Ex 24:1,9; Nu 11:16,25; Jer 5:5; 19:1; Da 9:8
Shaphan.
2Ki 22:3,8,12,14; 25:22; 2Ch 34:20; Jer 26:24; 29:3; 36:10
every.
Nu 16:17,35; 2Ch 26:16,19; Jer 7:9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezekiel 8:10

    So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.

  • 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 8:12

    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.

Read all of Ezekiel 8

Ezekiel 8:11 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y delante de ellos estaban setenta varones de los ancianos de la casa de Israel, y Jaazanías hijo de Saphán estaba en medio de ellos, cada uno con su incensario en su mano; y del sahumerio subía espesura de niebla.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et 70 hommes d’entre les anciens de la maison d’Israël se tenaient devant elles, et au milieu d’eux se tenait Jaazania, fils de Shaphan: chacun avait son encensoir dans sa main, et il montait une épaisse nuée d’encens.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und siebzig Männer von den Ältesten des Hauses Israel, und Jaasanja, der Sohn Schaphans, in ihrer Mitte stehend, standen davor, jeder mit seinem Räucherfaß in seiner Hand; und der Duft einer Weihrauchwolke stieg empor.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		et septuaginta viri de senioribus domus Israël: et Jezonias filius Saphan stabat in medio eorum stantium ante picturas: et unusquisque habebat thuribulum in manu sua, et vapor nebulæ de thure consurgebat.