Isaiah 8:21 “They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished,…”

Isaiah 8:21

They 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.

Berean Standard Bible

Other translations

King James Version

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.

World English Bible

They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry. It will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse their king and their God. They will turn their faces upward,

American Standard Version

And they shall pass through it, sore distressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse by their king and by their God, and turn their faces upward:

Geneva Bible 1599

Then he that is afflicted and famished, shall go to and from in it: and when he shalbe hungry, he shall euen freat himselfe, and curse his King and his gods, and shall looke vpward.

Darby Translation

And they shall pass through it, hard pressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass when they are hungry, they will fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and will gaze upward:

Young's Literal Translation

— And it hath passed over into it, hardened and hungry, And it hath come to pass, That it is hungry, and hath been wroth, And made light of its king, and of its God, And hath looked upwards.

Bible in Basic English

And he will go through the land in bitter trouble and in need of food; and when he is unable to get food, he will become angry, cursing his king and his God, and his eyes will be turned to heaven on high;

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Cross references

“through”

Isaiah 8:7 Isaiah 8:8

Isaiah 8:7 · BSB

the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates — the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks.

Isaiah 8:8 · BSB

It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel!

“hardly bestead”

Isaiah 9:20 Deuteronomy 28:53–57 2 Kings 25:3 Jeremiah 14:18 Jeremiah 52:6 Deuteronomy 28:33

Isaiah 9:20 · BSB

They carve out what is on the right, but they are still hungry; they eat what is on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring.

Deuteronomy 28:53–57 · BSB

Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you.

2 Kings 25:3 · BSB

By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.

Jeremiah 14:18 · BSB

If I go out to the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, I see those ravaged by famine! For both prophet and priest travel to a land they do not know.’”

Jeremiah 52:6 · BSB

By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.

Deuteronomy 28:33 · BSB

A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.

“they shall fret”

Proverbs 19:3

Proverbs 19:3 · BSB

A man’s own folly subverts his way, yet his heart rages against the LORD.

“curse”

Exodus 22:28 Job 1:11 Job 2:5 Job 2:9 Revelation 16:9–11 2 Kings 6:33

Exodus 22:28 · BSB

You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

Job 1:11 · BSB

But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

Job 2:5 · BSB

But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

Job 2:9 · BSB

Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”

Revelation 16:9–11 · BSB

And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues. Yet they did not repent and give Him glory.

2 Kings 6:33 · BSB

While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, “This calamity is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”

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

In context

20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

22Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and the gloom of anguish. And they will be driven into utter darkness.

Read Isaiah 8