Isaiah 8:19
“¶ And when they shall say vnto you; Seeke vnto them that haue familiar spirits, and vnto wizards that peepe and that mutter: should not a people seeke vnto their God? for the liuing, to the dead?”
1611 King James Version (KJV)
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Isaiah 8:19 Context
17And I wil wait vpon the Lord that hideth his face from the house of Iacob, and I will looke for him. 18Behold, I, and the children whom the Lord hath giuen me, are for signes, and for wonders in Israel: from the Lord of hostes, which dwelleth in mount Zion. 19¶ And when they shall say vnto you; Seeke vnto them that haue familiar spirits, and vnto wizards that peepe and that mutter: should not a people seeke vnto their God? for the liuing, to the dead? 20To the Law and to the Testimonie: if they speake not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 21And they shall passe through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to passe, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselues, and curse their King, and their God, and looke vpward.
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Other Translations for Isaiah 8:19
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?
- King James Version
When they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, should not a people consult their God? {Should they} {consult} the dead on behalf of the living?"
- New American Standard Version (1995)
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?
- American Standard Version (1901)
And when they say to you, Make request for us to those who have control of spirits, and to those wise in secret arts, who make hollow bird-like sounds; is it not right for a people to make request to their gods, to make request for the living to the dead?
- Basic English Bible
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto the necromancers and unto the soothsayers, who chirp and who mutter, [say,] Shall not a people seek unto their God? [Will they go] for the living unto the dead?
- Darby Bible
And when they shall say to you, Seek to them that have familiar spirits, and to wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek to their God? for the living to the dead?
- Webster's Bible
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?
- World English Bible
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!
- Youngs Literal Bible
And when they shall say unto you: 'Seek unto the ghosts and the familiar spirits, that chirp and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living unto the dead
- Jewish Publication Society Bible
Wesley's Notes for Isaiah 8:19
8:19 And when they - The Israelites, who are fallen from God, into superstition and idolatry. You - My children, whom the prophet arms against the common temptation. Mutter - That speak with a low voice, as these two words signify, which they affected to do, speaking rather inwardly in their bellies, than audibly with their mouths. Should not - This answer the prophet puts into their mouths, doth not every nation, in cases of difficulty, seek to their gods? Much more should we do so, that have the only true God for our God. For the living - That is, for living men to enquire of the living God, is proper and reasonable; but it is highly absurd for them to forsake him, and to seek dead idols, either to the images, or to the spirits of dead men, which are supposed to speak in them.