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

19Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead? 20Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark. They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven 22and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the 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 8:7Therefore, the Lord will overwhelm them with a mighty flood from the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria and all his glory. This flood will overflow all its channels
• Isaiah 9:20They will attack their neighbor on the right but will still be hungry. They will devour their neighbor on the left but will not be satisfied. In the end they will even eat their own children.
• Deuteronomy 28:33A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment.
• 2 Kings 25:3By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.
• Jeremiah 14:18If I go out into the fields, I see the bodies of people slaughtered by the enemy. If I walk the city streets, I see people who have died of starvation. The prophets and priests continue with their work, but they don’t know what they’re doing.”
• Jeremiah 52:6By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.
• Lamentations 4:4The parched tongues of their little ones stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst. The children cry for bread, but no one has any to give them.
• Proverbs 19:3People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.
• Exodus 22:28“You must not dishonor God or curse any of your rulers.
• 2 Kings 6:33While Elisha was still saying this, the messenger arrived. And the king said, “All this misery is from the Lord! Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
• Job 1:11But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”
• Job 2:5But reach out and take away his health, and he will surely curse you to your face!”
• Revelation 9:20But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!
• Revelation 16:9Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God 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