Isaiah 8:21 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.
Isaiah 8:21 nkjv
They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
Isaiah 8:21 niv
Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God.
Isaiah 8:21 esv
They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward.
Isaiah 8:21 nlt
They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven
Isaiah 8 21 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 8:21 | “And they will pass through it, hard-pressed and hungry; and it will be because of hunger that they shall rage, and curse their king and their God; and they turn their faces upward.” | Historical context, Prophetic warning |
| Leviticus 26:29 | "So you shall eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters." | Consequence of disobedience |
| Deuteronomy 28:56 | "The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye will be evil toward her husband...and toward her children..." | Detailed curses for disobedience |
| Jeremiah 19:9 | "And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone will eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and distress..." | Echoes of judgment |
| Lamentations 2:20 | "Look, O LORD, and see! With whom have You dealt this way? Should women eat their offspring, the little ones delivered in tenderness? Should priest and prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?" | Desperation of famine |
| Ezekiel 5:10 | "Therefore the fathers shall eat the flesh of their sons among you, and the sons shall eat the flesh of their fathers..." | Foretelling severe punishment |
| 2 Kings 6:28-29 | "Then the king said to her, 'What is the matter with you?' And she answered, 'This woman said to me, “Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.”'" | Fulfillment of prophecy |
| Matthew 24:7 | "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places." | Signs of the end times |
| Luke 1:53 | "He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty." | Contrast in God's dealings |
| Revelation 6:8 | "And I looked, and behold, a pale horse; and its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed with him. And authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword with famine, and with pestilence, and by wild beasts of the earth." | Consequences of judgment |
| Isaiah 8:22 | "Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and they will be driven into thick darkness." | Continuation of the depiction |
| Hosea 5:14-15 | "For I will be like a lion to Ephraim and like a lion cub to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and there will be none to carry away. I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense and seek my face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek me." | God’s response to suffering |
| Jeremiah 4:11-12 | "At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, 'A dry wind from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, not a winnowing winnow to winnow; a stronger wind than these will come for me...'" | Severe judgment depicted |
| Isaiah 5:11-13 | "Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may pursue strong drink, who linger late into the evening that wine may inflame them!..." | Societal corruption |
| Proverbs 30:33 | "For as the pressing of milk produces cheese, and as the pressing of the nose produces blood, so the pressing of anger produces strife." | Consequences of uncontrolled rage |
| Job 30:26-27 | "But when I looked for good, evil came; and when I waited for light, darkness overtook me. My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me. My bones are scorched, and my sinews are pulled tight." | Personal suffering |
| Psalm 119:83 | "For I have become like a wineskin smoked by smoke, yet I do not forget Your statutes." | Perseverance in affliction |
| Galatians 5:19-21 | "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these..." | Characteristics of a sinful state |
| Acts 2:37-38 | "Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?'" | Response to divine warning |
| Romans 12:14-15 | "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." | Christian response to hardship |
| Zechariah 7:12-13 | "They made their hearts like adamant stone, lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts sent by His Spirit through the former prophets..." | Resistance to God's word |
Isaiah 8 verses
Isaiah 8 21 Meaning
The verse depicts intense suffering and hardship, a dire state caused by famine and siege. The imagery signifies a people so desperate and deprived that they are forced to eat what is normally forbidden and considered unclean, reflecting God’s judgment upon them for their sin. It highlights the devastating consequences of turning away from God's guidance.
Isaiah 8 21 Context
Isaiah chapter 8 is a powerful prophetic message delivered during a tumultuous period in Israel's history, likely the reign of Ahaz (around 730-715 BCE). The northern kingdom of Israel and Syria were threatening Judah. King Ahaz was contemplating an alliance with the Assyrian empire, a move Isaiah vehemently opposed, advocating for trust in God alone. Verses 1-4 are a sign concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz, a son born to Isaiah as a symbolic representation of the impending doom upon Samaria and Damascus. Verses 5-10 reiterate the rejection of these invading kingdoms by Judah, but also a prophecy of Assyria’s eventual overwhelming power that would afflict even Jerusalem.
The latter part of the chapter (verses 11-22) focuses on warnings to the people of Judah. Isaiah is instructed to separate himself from the fearful majority, and to bind up the testimony of God’s law among his disciples. The section concerning the "people passing through the land" refers to the invasion and its devastating effects, culminating in the graphic description of severe hunger and the people’s resulting despair, impiety, and anger towards their leadership and God. The context highlights God's judgment on a rebellious people, emphasizing the dire consequences of forsaking Him and relying on flawed human strategies or succumbing to fear.
Isaiah 8 21 Word Analysis
“And they shall pass through it,”
- Hebrew: וְעָבְרוּ־בָהּ (weʿāḇərū-ḇāh)
- Meaning: Literally "and they pass through it." "It" refers to the land, likely referring to Judah being overrun by the enemy forces.
“hard-pressed”
- Hebrew: צָרִים (ṣārîm)
- Meaning: Compressed, constrained, afflicted, in distress, narrow. It implies being hemmed in and oppressed.
“and hungry;”
- Hebrew: וְרָעֵבִים (wərā‘əḇîm)
- Meaning: And hungry. Directly states the severe deprivation of food.
“and it will be because of hunger”
- Hebrew: וְהָיָה כִּי־רָעָב (wəhāyāh kî-rā‘āḇ)
- Meaning: And it will be, for hunger. Connects the subsequent actions directly to the famine.
“that they shall rage,”
- Hebrew: וְהִתְקַצַּפֻתָה (wəhiṯqaṣṣāp̄ūṯā)
- Meaning: And they shall be fierce, enraged, furious. Describes their uncontrollable anger stemming from their suffering.
“and curse”
- Hebrew: וְקִלְּלוּ (wəqilləlū)
- Meaning: And they shall curse. This indicates speaking ill or invoking evil upon something.
“their king”
- Hebrew: מַלְכָּם (malkām)
- Meaning: Their king. Referring to their earthly ruler.
“and their God;”
- Hebrew: וֵאלֹהֵיהֶם (wə’ĕlōhêhem)
- Meaning: And their God. This is a profound accusation – not just blaming the human leader, but also blaspheming God, reflecting utter rebellion and desperation.
“and they turn their faces upward.”
- Hebrew: וְהִסְתַּכְּלוּ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה (wəhisṯakkəlū haššāmaymah)
- Meaning: And they look upward (towards heaven). This is not necessarily prayerful looking but a desperate, possibly accusatory, upward gaze. Scholars suggest it signifies looking for help, but in their anger, it's directed towards God as an object of their wrath and curses, or perhaps an indication of acknowledging a divine power but still defiantly directing their anger at Him. It can also represent a turning away from the earth's suffering towards a perceived higher cause of it.
Group Analysis: The phrase "hard-pressed and hungry... rage, and curse their king and their God; and they turn their faces upward" depicts a complete spiritual and societal breakdown under extreme duress. The hunger is so severe that it leads to a rejection of earthly and divine authority. The action of "turning their faces upward" in this context is not a turning to God in repentance but an expression of desperate defiance or futile appeal directed heavenward in their rage, underscoring the depth of their spiritual distress and rebellion against God's judgment.
Isaiah 8 21 Bonus Section
The prophecy of people eating their own offspring, though graphic, is not unique to Isaiah. It serves as the ultimate indicator of total societal collapse and God’s judgment, reflecting a reversal of nature where the most nurturing relationships become predatory. This extreme imagery is used to underscore the unparalleled severity of God's wrath when a people, given every opportunity, not only reject but actively curse their God and their leaders in their hour of extreme need. It foreshadows later prophetic pronouncements and finds echoes in descriptions of siege warfare in other ancient Near Eastern texts. The intensity of the emotion, turning to "rage" and "cursing," highlights the destructive power of despair when untempered by faith.
Isaiah 8 21 Commentary
This verse paints a harrowing picture of the ultimate consequence of persistent rebellion and spiritual disobedience: absolute desperation that drives people to blaspheme the very God they should trust. The extreme hardship described—hunger so intense that it fuels rage and leads to cursing one’s king and God—serves as a stark warning about the devastating spiritual and social disintegration that follows a turning away from divine covenant. It illustrates how true sustenance is spiritual, and when that is neglected, even physical survival becomes a brutal, faith-destroying ordeal. The "looking upward" is not a posture of faith but of godless defiance in their suffering.