Passage

Isaiah 8.13

Book: Isaiah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

11. For Jehovah spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, 12. Say ye not, A conspiracy, concerning all whereof this people shall say, A conspiracy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be in dread thereof.

13. Jehovah of hosts, him shall ye sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15. And many shall stumble thereon, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. (Isaiah 8:11-15, ASV)

WEB

11. For Yahweh spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, 12. “Don’t say, ‘A conspiracy!’ concerning all about which this people say, ‘A conspiracy!’ neither fear their threats, nor be terrorized.

13. Yahweh of Armies is who you must respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread.

He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15. Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.” (Isaiah 8:11-15, WEB)

KJV

11. For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, ^{with: Heb. in strength of hand} 12. Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

13. Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. (Isaiah 8:11-15, KJV)

YLT

11. For thus hath Jehovah spoken unto me with strength of hand, and instructeth me against walking in the way of this people, saying, 12. 'Ye do not say, A confederacy, To all to whom this people saith, A confederacy, And its fear ye do not fear, Nor declare fearful.

13. Jehovah of Hosts, Him ye do sanctify, And He [is] your Fear, and He your Dread,

And He hath been for a sanctuary, And for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of falling, To the two houses of Israel, For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15. And many among them have stumbled and fallen, And been broken, and snared, and captured. (Isaiah 8:11-15, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the LORD, through the prophet
Audience: Isaiah and those who follow him, against the fear of the surrounding nations
Location: Jerusalem
Time period: the eighth century BC, under Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah

Theological reading

The LORD of hosts, him you shall honour as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

The verse is a redirection. Ahaz and the people are afraid of a political alliance, and the instruction is to transfer the fear rather than to remove it, which is the consistent biblical treatment of fear: it is reallocated, not abolished.

1 Peter 3:14-15 quotes the surrounding verses and makes a christological substitution, telling readers not to fear what they fear but to honour Christ as Lord in their hearts. The transfer of a text about the LORD of hosts to Christ, in a letter addressed to churches under pressure, is one of the quieter high-christology moves in the New Testament.

The next verse says he will become a sanctuary and also a stone of offence and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, which Paul and Peter both take up.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

H6635 - tzevaot, tzevaot, Strong's H6635
H3068 - YHWH, YHWH, Strong's H3068

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Cumulative Case for the Deity of Christ

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

G2962 - kyrios

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.