Isaiah 8:19

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 8:11-22

Judah rejects Isaiah’s preaching (8:11-22)Once again God reminds Isaiah to trust in him alone. Isaiah is not to follow Ahaz and the people, whether in fearing the Israelite-Syrian alliance or in trusting in Judah’s alliance with Assyria (11-12). God should be the means of Judah’s safety; but if the people do not trust in him they will find that he is the means of their destruction (13-15).When neither the king nor the people heed the messages he brings them from God, Isaiah ceases his public... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Isaiah 8:19

when = should. familiar spirits. See note on Leviticus 19:31 . peep. Hebrew. zaphaph . Occurs only in Isaiah; and this form, only in Isaiah 10:14 , elsewhere, in Isaiah 29:4 (whisper); Isaiah 38:14 (chatter). It is used of an unearthly sound. mutter: i, e. with indistinct sounds. This refers to the low incantations which, in the Babylonian and Egyptian "mysteries", had to be recited in a whisper (like certain parts of the Roman Missal). A whole series is called "the ritual of the whispered... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Isaiah 8:19

"And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto the dead? To the law and to the testimony! if they speak not according to this word, surely there is no morning for them. 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... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Isaiah 8:19-20

Isaiah 8:19-20. And when they shall say— Here follows the address of the prophet to the Jewish nation, drawn from the argument of the preceding prophesy,—to the first verse of the 9th chapter; and then a remarkable illustration of the prophesy concerning Jehovah the teacher, who was hereafter to appear to the Jews,—from Isaiah 8:2-7. The connection is this: the prophet having foretold the coming of the Messiah, and the disciples which he would have, takes this occasion of addressing the Jews,... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 8:19

19. Seek unto—Consult in your national difficulties. them . . . familiar spirits—necromancers, spirit charmers. So Saul, when he had forsaken God (1 Samuel 28:7, c.), consulted the witch of En-dor in his difficulties. These follow in the wake of idolatry, which prevailed under Ahaz (2 Kings 16:3 2 Kings 16:4; 2 Kings 16:10). He copied the soothsaying as he did the idolatrous "altar" of Damascus (compare Leviticus 20:6, which forbids it, Isaiah 19:3). wizards—men claiming supernatural knowledge;... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 8:19

Loss of faith in God results in an increase in superstition. The unfaithful in Judah were encouraging their brethren to seek advice about the future from mediums, wizards, and spiritists-instead of from their God (cf. Leviticus 19:31; Leviticus 20:6; Deuteronomy 18:11). Their unusual speech, used to call up spirits, portends unreliable revelations. How ironic it is to consult the dead for information about the living (cf. 1 Samuel 28:6-8)! read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 8:1-22

1. Take, etc.] read ’Take thee a great tablet, and write upon it with the pen of a man, Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’ A man’s pen] i.e. such as a common man would use for writing in large characters that all might, undertsand the words. Maher-shalal-hash-baz] i.e. ’The spoil speedeth, the prey hasteth.’ The inscription intimated the speedy spoliation of Syria and Israel (Isaiah 8:4).2. And I took] RV ’And I will take,’ the speaker being Jehovah as in Isaiah 8:1. Witnesses] who would be able when the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 8:19

(19) And when they shall say unto you . . .—This then was the temptation to which the disciples of Isaiah were exposed, and to which they were all but yielding. Why should not they do as others did, and consult the soothsayers, who were in such great demand (Isaiah 2:6), as to the anxious secrets of the coming years. The words point to some of the many forms of such soothsaying (Deuteronomy 18:10). The “familiar spirit” (the English term being a happy paraphrase rather than a translation), is... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Isaiah 8:1-22

CHAPTER VIKING AND MESSIAH; PEOPLE AND CHURCH735-732 B.C.Isaiah 7, 8, 9:1-8THIS section of the book of Isaiah (chapters 7-9:7) consists of a number of separate prophecies uttered during a period of at least three years: 735-732 B.C. By 735 Ahaz had ascended the throne; Tiglath-pileser had been occupied in the far east for two years. Taking advantage of the weakness of the former and the distance of the later, Rezin, king of Damascus, and Pekah, king of Samaria, planned an invasion of Judah. It... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Isaiah 8:1-22

CHAPTER 8 Jehovah’s Word Through Isaiah and the Assyrian Announced 1. The divine instruction and Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isaiah 8:1-4 ) 2. The Assyrian to come (Isaiah 8:5-8 ) 3. The answer of faith (Isaiah 8:9-10 ) 4. A word to the faithful remnant (Isaiah 8:11-20 ) 5. The coming great distress (Isaiah 8:21-22 ) The names are significant. Isaiah heard the word “Maher-shalal-hash-baz,” and then is told to call his newborn son by this name. The name means “swift for spoil, hasty for... read more

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