Isaiah 8:21

Isaiah 8:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
• New International Version (NIV)Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward.

Context of Isaiah 8:21

19People will say to you, “Ask for help from the mediums and the fortunetellers, who whisper and mutter.” Shouldn’t people ask their God for help instead? Why should they ask the dead to help the living? 20They should go to the teachings and to the written instructions. If people don’t speak these words, it is because it doesn’t dawn on them. They will pass through the land when they are hard-pressed and hungry. When they are hungry, they will be furious. Then they will look up, cursing their king and God. 22They will look at the earth and see only distress and gloom. They will go in anguish and be forced into darkness.

Isaiah 8:21 word by word

וְעָ֥בַר בָּ֖הּ נִקְשֶׁ֣ה וְרָעֵ֑ב וְהָיָ֨ה כִֽי־יִרְעַ֜ב וְהִתְקַצַּ֗ף וְקִלֵּ֧ל בְּמַלְכּ֛וֹ וּבֵאלֹהָ֖יו וּפָנָ֥ה לְמָֽעְלָה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they shall passעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• through it, hardly besteadקָשָׁהqâshâh · to hardenH7185
• and hungryרָעֵבrâ‛êb · hungryH7457
• and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungryרָעֵבrâ‛êb · be hungryH7456
• they shall fretקָצַףqâtsaph · be angryH7107
• themselves, and curseקָלַלqâlal · to lightenH7043
• their kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• and their Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and lookפָּנָהpânâh · to turnH6437
• upwardמַ֫עַלma‛al · aboveH4605

Cross-references for Isaiah 8:21

• Isaiah 8:7That is why the Lord is going to bring against them the raging and powerful floodwaters of the Euphrates River— the king of Assyria with all his power. It will overflow all its channels and go over all its banks.
• Isaiah 9:20On the right, one gobbles up food and is still hungry. On the left, another eats and is never full. Each person eats the flesh from his own arm.
• Deuteronomy 28:33People you never knew will eat what your land and your hard work have produced. As long as you live, you will know nothing but oppression and abuse.
• 2 Kings 25:3On the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city became so severe that the common people had no food.
• Jeremiah 14:18If I go to the field, I see those killed because of war. If I go to the city, I see those sick because of famine. Prophets and priests wander through a land they haven’t heard of.
• Jeremiah 52:6On the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city became so severe that the common people had no food.
• Lamentations 4:4The tongues of nursing infants stick to the roofs of their mouths because of their thirst. Little children beg for bread, but no one will break off a piece for them.
• Proverbs 19:3The stupidity of a person turns his life upside down, and his heart rages against the Lord.
• Exodus 22:28“Never show disrespect for God or curse a leader of your people.
• 2 Kings 6:33While he was still talking to them, the messenger arrived. He said to Elisha, “This severe famine is from the Lord. Why should I wait any longer for the Lord ⌞to help us⌟?”
• Job 1:11But now stretch out your hand, and strike everything he has. I bet he’ll curse you to your face.”
• Job 2:5But stretch out your hand, and strike his flesh and bones. I bet he’ll curse you to your face.”
• Revelation 9:20The people who survived these plagues still did not turn to me and change the way they were thinking and acting. If they had, they would have stopped worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk.
• Revelation 16:9They were severely burned. They cursed the name of God, who has the authority over these plagues. They would not change the way they think and act and give him glory.

Commentaries on Isaiah 8:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Hardly bestead "Distressed" - Instead of נקשה niksheh, distressed, the Vulgate, Chaldee, and Symmachus manifestly read נכשל nichshal, stumbling, tottering through weakness, ready to fall; a sense which suits very well with the place. And look upward "And he shall cast his eyes upward" - The learned professor Michaelis, treating of this place (Not. in de Sacr. Poes. Hebr. Prael. ix.) refers to a passage in the Koran which is similar to it. As it is a very…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21And they shall pass - The people who have been consulting necromancers. This represents the condition of these who have sought for counsel and direction, and who have not found it. They shall be conscious of disappointment, and shall wander perplexed and alarmed through the land. Through it - Through the land. They shall wander in it from one place to another, seeking direction and relief. Hardly bestead - Oppressed, borne down, agitated. The meaning is…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-22Verses 17-22 The prophet foresaw that the Lord would hide his face; but he would look for his return in favour to them again. Though not miraculous signs, the children's names were memorials from God, suited to excite attention. The unbelieving Jews were prone to seek counsel in difficulties, from diviners of different descriptions, whose foolish and sinful ceremonies are alluded to. Would we know how we may seek to our God, and come to the knowledge of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-22Isaiah contrasted his message with the advice of ungodly people around him. His message brought light and truth. The message of spiritists led to darkness and death. Mediums tried to discover the future through divination (seeking hidden knowledge through rituals). Some claimed to speak with the dead (see Isaiah 19:3). However, God had forbidden these practices because they were empty and harmful (Isaiah 47:9; Deuteronomy 18:9–11).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 21-2221-22. More detailed description of the despair, which they shall fall into, who sought necromancy instead of God; Is 8:20 implies that too late they shall see how much better it would have been for them to have sought "to the law," &c. (De 32:31). But now they are given over to despair. Therefore, while seeing the truth of God, they only "curse their King and God"; foreshadowing the future, like conduct of those belonging to the "kingdom of the beast,"…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 8:21

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Blasphemy
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• King

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Ahaz
• Bestead
• Dread
• Light
• Sanctify
• Seal
• Ezekiel
• Fret, Fretting

Commentaries on Isaiah 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings