Passage

Isaiah 8.18

Book: Isaiah · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"16. Bind thou up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. 17. And I will wait for Jehovah, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him."

"18. Behold, I and the children whom Jehovah hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion."

"19. And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto the dead? 20. To the law and to the testimony! if they speak not according to this word, surely there is no morning for them." (Isaiah 8:16-20, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"16. Wrap up the testimony. Seal the law among my disciples. 17. I will wait for Yahweh, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him."

"18. Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Armies, who dwells in Mount Zion."

"19. When they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter:” shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20. Turn to the law and to the testimony! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them." (Isaiah 8:16-20, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"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 their God? for the living to the dead? 20. To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. ^{no: Heb. no morning}" (Isaiah 8:16-20, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"16. Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among My disciples. 17. And I have waited for Jehovah, Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, And I have looked for Him."

"18. Lo, I, and the children whom Jehovah hath given to me, [Are] for signs and for wonders in Israel, From Jehovah of Hosts, who is dwelling in Mount Zion."

"19. And when they say unto you, 'Seek unto those having familiar spirits, And unto wizards, who chatter and mutter, Doth not a people seek unto its God?, For the living unto the dead! 20. To the law and to the testimony! If not, let them say after this manner, 'That there is no dawn to it.'" (Isaiah 8:16-20, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

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.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

Cursed Messiah Objection Defeater

Notes

Your annotations.

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.