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

19They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” 20Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. They will pass through the land destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, and they will curse their king and their God as they look upward. 22When one looks out over the land, he sees distress and darkness, gloom and anxiety, darkness and people forced from the land.

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 8:7So look, the sovereign master is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River – the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks.
• Isaiah 9:20They devoured on the right, but were still hungry, they ate on the left, but were not satisfied. People even ate the flesh of their own arm!
• Deuteronomy 28:33As for the produce of your land and all your labor, a people you do not know will consume it, and you will be nothing but oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives.
• 2 Kings 25:3By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city was so severe the residents had no food.
• Jeremiah 14:18If I go out into the countryside, I see those who have been killed in battle. If I go into the city, I see those who are sick because of starvation. For both prophet and priest go about their own business in the land without having any real understanding.’”
• Jeremiah 52:6By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city was so severe the residents had no food.
• Lamentations 4:4The infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth due to thirst; little children beg for bread, but no one gives them even a morsel. ה (He)
• Proverbs 19:3A person’s folly subverts his way, and his heart rages against the Lord.
• Exodus 22:28“You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
• 2 Kings 6:33He was still talking to them when the messenger approached and said, “Look, the Lord is responsible for this disaster! Why should I continue to wait for the Lord to help?”
• Job 1:11But extend your hand and strike everything he has, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!”
• Job 2:5But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!”
• Revelation 9:20The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk about.
• Revelation 16:9Thus people were scorched by the terrible heat, yet they blasphemed the name of God, who has ruling authority over these plagues, and they would not repent 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