Ezekiel 8:12 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

Bible Comments

Hast thou seen? observed and thoroughly considered. The ancients: see Ezekiel 8:11. Do in the dark; whether ashamed to act openly what was most absurd, or whether out of blindness doting in secret on what heathens secretly derided, though for interest they acted it openly; owning that religion which awed the people among them, and deriding it at home. But idolatrous Jews blush in public, and retire into corners to be idolaters, as thou seest in this chamber. Every man; every one of those ancients, for still God had his remnant that kept close to God. In the chambers; secret closet, or bed-chamber. They say; the most shameless would give a reason for their unreasonable practices. The Lord, Jehovah, the everlasting and almighty God, seeth us not: either they deny his providence, and act what they durst not if they thought the Lord knew and noted it, as if they accounted Jehovah no better than idols, that have eyes but see not; or else they deny God's care of them and their affairs, traduce him, as if he minded them not, and therefore they must choose some or other god for patron who would better help them than he had done. The Lord hath forsaken the earth: this seems to explain the meaning of that, he seeth us not; and so with atheism more than ordinary they would cast the blame of choosing other gods on God himself.

Ezekiel 8:12

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.