Isaiah 8:19

And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto mediums that have familiar spirits, and unto spiritists that whisper, and that mutter: should not Am seek unto Elohav? Should they consult the mesim (dead ones) for the benefit of the chayyim (living)?

Orthodox Jewish Bible

In The King James Version

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?

In Context

18Hinei, I and the yeladim whom Hashem hath given me are for otot and for mofetim + 8:18 See Zech 3:8 in Yisroel from Hashem Tzva'os, which dwelleth in Mount Tziyon.

20To the torah (teaching of G-d) and to the te'udah + 8:20 te'udah i.e. prophetic record such as chapter 6 (see also in verse 16) (recorded testimony); if they speak not according to Davar HaZeh, it is because there is no shachar (dawn, light) in them.

Read all of Isaiah 8

Cross References

Leviticus 19:31Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after Ovos (Mediums) and Yidonim (Spiritists), to be defiled by them: I am Hashem Eloheichem.

Deuteronomy 18:10There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his ben or his bat to pass through the eish + 18:10 i.e., be burned as an idolʼs offering or kosem kesamim (a diviner of divination) or a m'onen (soothsayer, astrologer), or a m'nachesh (one who interprets omens), or a mekhashshef (witch).

1 Samuel 28:7Then said Sha'ul unto his avadim, Seek me an isha that is a ba'alat ov (medium, a person with a familiar spirit), that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his avadim said to him, Hinei, there is an eshet ba'alat ov at Ein-Dor.

1 Samuel 28:11Then said the isha, Whom shall I bring up for thee? And he said, Bring up Shmuel for me.

2 Kings 1:3But the Malach Hashem said to Eliyahu HaTishbi, Arise, go up to meet the malachim of Melech Shomron, and say unto them, Is it because there is no Elohim in Yisroel, that ye go to inquire of Ba'al-Zevuv elohei Ekron?

2 Kings 23:24Moreover the mediums with familiar spirits, and the yidonim (spiritists), and the terafim, and the gillulim (idols), and all the shikkutzim that were seen in Eretz Yehudah and in Yerushalayim, did Yoshiyah put away, that he might confirm the Divrei HaTorah which were written in the Sefer that Chilkiyah HaKohen found in the Beis Hashem.

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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