Isaiah 8:21
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
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.
22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.
- 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.
- WEB
- They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry. It will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse their king and their God. They will turn their faces upward,
- ASV
- And they shall pass through it, sore distressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse by their king and by their God, and turn their faces upward:
- DARBY
- And they shall pass through it, hard pressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass when they are hungry, they will fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and will gaze upward:
- BLB
- And he will pass over into it hard pressed and hungry, and it will be [that] when he is hungry and becomes angry, that he will think little of his king and of his gods, and he will turn upward,
- ÅB
- da skal de dra gjennom landet hårdt plaget og hungrige, og når de hungrer, så blir de harme og forbanner sin konge og sin Gud. De skal vende sine øyne mot det høye,
- OTB
- De skal vandre gjennom landet, bekymret og sultne; når de er utsultet, vil de bli rasende og, mens de ser oppover, forbanne sin konge og sin Gud.
- B1930
- da skal de dra gjennem landet hårdt plaget og hungrige, og når de hungrer, så blir de harme og forbanner sin konge og sin Gud. De skal vende sine øine mot det høie,
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Proverbs 19:3
The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.
Read in contextIsaiah 9:20
And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
Read in contextJeremiah 14:18
If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.
Read in context2 Kings 25:3
And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
Read in contextJeremiah 52:6
And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
Read in contextLamentations 4:9–10
They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
Read in contextRevelation 16:9–11
And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Read in contextJob 2:9
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Read in context