Isaiah 8:20

for instruction and for testimony?' — Surely they will speak according to this word, wherein there is no light. —

JPS TaNaKH 1917

In The King James Version

To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

In Context

19And when they shall say unto you: 'Seek unto the ghosts and the familiar spirits, that chirp and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living unto the dead

21And they shall pass this way that are sore bestead 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, whether they turn their faces upward,

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Cross References

Ezra 10:3Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of the LORD, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

Psalms 119:130The opening of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

Isaiah 1:10Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

Isaiah 30:8Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.

Hosea 6:3And let us know, eagerly strive to know the LORD, His going forth is sure as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth.'

Malachi 4:2(3-20) But unto you that fear My name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall.

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 8:17-22

The Importance of the Scriptures. ( b. c. 740.) 16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. 17 And I will wait upon the Lord , that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. 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… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

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