Isaiah 8:20 “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to thi…”

Isaiah 8:20

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

Berean Standard Bible

Other translations

King James Version

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

World English Bible

Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.

American Standard Version

To the law and to the testimony! if they speak not according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.

Geneva Bible 1599

To the Law, and to the testimonie, if they speake not according to this worde: it is because there is no light in them.

Darby Translation

To the law and the testimony! If they speak not according to this word, for them there is no daybreak.

Young's Literal Translation

To the law and to the testimony! If not, let them say after this manner, 'That there is no dawn to it.'

Bible in Basic English

Then say to them, Put your faith in the teaching and the witness. ... If they do not say such things. ... For him there is no dawn. ...

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Cross references

“the law”

2 Peter 1:19 2 Timothy 3:15–17 John 5:39 Acts 17:11 Isaiah 8:16 Galatians 3:8–29

2 Peter 1:19 · BSB

We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

2 Timothy 3:15–17 · BSB

From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

John 5:39 · BSB

You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,

Acts 17:11 · BSB

Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

Isaiah 8:16 · BSB

Bind up the testimony and seal the law among my disciples.

Galatians 3:8–29 · BSB

The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”

“it is”

Psalm 119:130 Isaiah 30:8–11 Jeremiah 8:9 Mark 7:7–9 Romans 1:22 Micah 3:6

Psalm 119:130 · BSB

The unfolding of Your words gives light; it informs the simple.

Isaiah 30:8–11 · BSB

Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the days to come, a witness forever and ever.

Jeremiah 8:9 · BSB

The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have?

Mark 7:7–9 · BSB

They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’

Romans 1:22 · BSB

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,

Micah 3:6 · BSB

Therefore night will come over you without visions, and darkness without divination. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn black over them.

“light”

Hosea 6:3 Proverbs 4:18 Malachi 4:2

Hosea 6:3 · BSB

So let us know— let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.

Proverbs 4:18 · BSB

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.

Malachi 4:2 · BSB

“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.

Also

Isaiah 1:10

Isaiah 1:10 · BSB

Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

Cross references adapted from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0) and the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

In context

19When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

21They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.

Read Isaiah 8