and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.
Parallel Translations
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and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.
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And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
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or look unto the earth, behold distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and outspread thick darkness.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Isaiah 8:22 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 5:30 They will roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress. The light is darkened in its clouds.
- Jeremiah 13:16 Give glory to Yahweh your God, before he causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while you look for light, he turns it into the shadow of death, and makes it deep darkness.
- Matthew 8:12 but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
- Matthew 22:13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.’
- Job 18:18 He will be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.
- Proverbs 14:32 The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge.
- Jeremiah 30:6-7 Ask now, and see whether a man travails with child. Why do I see every man with his hands on his waist, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned pale? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he will be saved out of it.
- Zephaniah 1:14-15 The great day of Yahweh is near. It is near, and hurries greatly, the voice of the day of Yahweh. The mighty man cries there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,
- Jude 1:13 wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever.
- 2 Chronicles 15:5-6 In those times there was no peace to him who went out, nor to him who came in; but great troubles were on all the inhabitants of the lands. They were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God troubled them with all adversity.
- Isaiah 8:20 Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
- Isaiah 9:1 But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
- Jeremiah 23:12 Therefore their way will be to them as slippery places in the darkness. They will be driven on, and fall therein; for I will bring evil on them, even the year of their visitation,” says Yahweh.
- Amos 5:18-20 “Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you long for the day of Yahweh? It is darkness, and not light. As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; Or he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him. Won’t the day of Yahweh be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it?
- Matthew 24:29 But immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;
- Luke 21:25-26 There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain They shall think that heaven and earth and all…
They shall think that heaven and earth and all creatures are bent against them to trouble them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 8:22 And they shall look unto the earth;…
Isa 8:22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and [they shall be] driven to darkness.
Ver. 22. Trouble and darkness, &c.] A huge heap of words all to one sense; to set forth their deepest distress without all hope of help.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain They shall look unto the earth; finding no help…
They shall look unto the earth; finding no help from heaven, they turn their eyes downward, looking hither and thither for comfort.
Trouble and darkness. &c.; many words expressing the same thing are put together, to signify the variety, and extremity, and continuance of their miseries.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And they shall look unto the earth,.... As persons…
And they shall look unto the earth,.... As persons in distress, upwards and downwards, backwards and forwards, on the right hand and on the left, particularly into the land of Judea; a land that used to flow with milk and honey, a land of light, plenty, and prosperity:
and behold trouble and darkness; adversity, and miseries of all kinds, expressed by a variety of words; and even words fail to express the tribulation of these times, which were such as were not from the beginning of the world, Mat 24:22,
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dimness of anguish; or "fleeing from affliction" (e), multitudes everywhere fleeing from one place to another, to avoid the calamities coming upon them, Mat 24:16,
and they shall be driven to darkness; when they endeavour to escape one calamity, they shall be driven and fall into another; the whole land shall be full of nothing else.
(e) a "volare", Forerius.
Next: Isaiah Chapter 9
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Earth - Finding no help from heaven, they turn…
Earth - Finding no help from heaven, they turn their eyes downward, looking hither and thither for comfort.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And they shall look unto the earth - They…
And they shall look unto the earth - They would look upward and find no relief, and then in despair cast their eyes to the earth to obtain help there. Yet equally in vain. The whole image is one of intense anguish brought on the nation for leaving the counselor the true God.
And behold ... - see the note at Isa 5:30.
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Trouble - Anguish, oppression, צרה tsârâh, from צור tsûr, to oppress, to straiten, to afflict. This is a remarkable instance of the prophet Isaiah’s manner - of a rapid, impetuous, and bold style of utterance. He accumulates images; piles words on each other; and deepens the anxiety by each additional word, until we almost feel that we are enveloped by the gloom, and see objects of terror and alarm on every side.
Dimness of anguish - These words should be kept separate in the translation - צוּקה מעוּף me‛ûp tsûqâh, “darkness, oppression” - accumulated epithets to heighten the gloom and terror of the scene.
And they shall be driven to darkness - Hebrew, מנדה ואפלה va'ăpēlâh menudāch a darkness that is driven, or that is urged upon itself; that becomes condensed, accumulated, until it becomes terrible and frightful. The idea is that of a driving tempest, or an involving obscurity (מנדה menudāch from נדה nâdâh, to push, thrust, impel, urge on, as a driving storm). The prophet has thus accumulated every possible idea of gloom and obscurity, and probably there is not anywhere a more graphic description of gathering darkness and trouble, and of the consternation of those involved in it, than this. So fearful and terrific are the judgments of God when he comes forth to punish people!
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 22. Then from looking upward they look to earth…
22. Then from looking upward they look to earth again; to enchantments and sorcery they look, only to feel woes more bitter, and to see forever no dawn, NO dawn.
Trouble… darkness… dimness… anguish — Accumulated images. Each one, as it rapidly flits before Isaiah, deepens the horror of gathering gloom and darkness. So fearful are God’s moral judgments on men when they to the last refuse to look to him for aid and guidance.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 22. The last words of the previous verse should…
22. The last words of the previous verse should be taken along with this one: and he shall look upward and shall look to the earth: and behold, &c. Whether he look to heaven or earth, no ray of hope shall appear (cf. ch. Isa_5:30).
trouble and darkness …] Render with R.V. distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. The word here translated “gloom” is slightly different in form from that in Isa_9:1, and does not occur again.
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and they shall … darkness] Probably: and he shall be chased into thick darkness. A somewhat similar phrase in Jer_23:12. Others render: “and darkness shall be driven (upon him)”; others: “but (the) darkness shall be dispelled.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain They shall look unto the earth. For necessary nutriment,…
They shall look unto the earth. For necessary nutriment, or simply as the place to which downcast and despairing eyes are turned naturally. They shall be driven to darkness. So Kay, who thinks the Captivity is meant; but it seems better to render the whole passage, with Mr. Cheyne, "They shall look to earth, and behold, distress and darkness, gloom of affliction, and thick darkness driven (upon them)." The darkness is spoken of as if it were a thing palpable, like rain or snow. (comp. Exo_10:21)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.