Isaiah 8:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.

NIV: Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

NASB: To the Law and to the testimony! If they do not speak in accordance with this word, it is because they have no dawn.

CSB: Go to God’s instruction and testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, there will be no dawn for them.

NLT: Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark.

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

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

Judah has been looking for answers from the spirits of the dead. They seek these beings—against God's explicit command (Leviticus 19:31)— through the mediums and necromancers. This is a practice Isaiah has unequivocally rejected. God reveals some things to His people, and there are some things He does not. In Scripture, divination, necromancy, witchcraft, and mediums were all attempts to gain information God had not otherwise made available. That means wasting time, at best—or contacting spirits antagonistic to both God and men, at worst.

The Lord has asked why people would not bring such questions to their God (Isaiah 8:19). In this instance, answers are fully available to all who are truly willing to hear. Those truths could be seen and understood by the living. Isaiah is stating how they do not need to inquire of the dead. He seemingly shouts that God has revealed Himself through the prophets and through His Word.

The problem is not that God is hiding the truth, it is that His people will not receive it. In other words, Isaiah says that those who will not hear the revealed word of God live in darkness. They reject the light and the light does not come. The day of their understanding of the truth never dawns.

Paul describes something similar in Romans 1, pointing to creation itself as revelation of the truth of God. Despite such truth being on full display before their eyes, the unrighteous refuse to hear it. They attempt to explain away the creation in other ways (Romans 1:18–22).

Isaiah 8:11–22 follows the prophecy about the coming destruction from the Assyrians. It includes a strong warning from the Lord to Isaiah to not follow the sins of the rest of Judah. He must not fear real or imagined threats. Instead, Isaiah must honor God and find safety in Him. The people will reject God, leading to ruin, and being taken away. Isaiah declares he will wait on the Lord and his family will be a sign that God has not abandoned those who trust Him. Those who reject God's Word, however, will remain in darkness.

Isaiah 8 begins with the Lord telling Isaiah to write a name on a large sign. Then Isaiah conceives a son, with a woman referred to as the "prophetess," likely his wife. The son is given the name on the sign. Before the son can speak, Judah's enemies will be wiped out by Assyria. Assyria will then bring destruction on Judah. Isaiah must not live in fear and dread as the people do. They will stumble over the stone of the Lord instead of trusting in Him. Isaiah will continue to hope in the Lord. Those who reject God's truth will live in darkness.

The prior chapter included a famous prophecy regarding the virgin birth of Jesus. Isaiah 8 continues to prophesy about the coming destruction of Judah's current enemies: Syria and Israel. Isaiah has a son whose name he has written on a sign. Before that son is old enough to talk, Assyria will destroy Judah's enemies and then bring destruction into Judah. The Lord warns Isaiah to honor God, not live in fear. The people will reject God as their foundation, falling into further sin. But Isaiah declares that he and his family will continue to point toward God's faithfulness. Those who reject God's revelation will live in and frustration and despair. This sets up additional prophecies which connect to the ministry of Christ.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).