Isaiah 8:21

KJV1611 – Modern English

And they shall pass through it, hard-pressed 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.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְעָ֥בַר בָּ֖הּ נִקְשֶׁ֣ה וְרָעֵ֑ב וְהָיָ֨ה כִֽי־יִרְעַ֜ב וְהִתְקַצַּ֗ף וְקִלֵּ֧ל בְּמַלְכּ֛וֹ וּבֵאלֹהָ֖יו וּפָנָ֥ה לְמָֽעְלָה׃

Transliteration

And-ʿābar in-it niqšeh and-rāʿēb and-hāyāh when-yirʿab and-hitqaṣṣap and-qillēl against-malkô and-against-ʾĕlōhāyw and-pānāh to-māʿlāh

Grammar Details

• *ʿābar*: qal perfect 3rd masculine singular - he will pass through
• *bāh*: preposition + 3rd feminine singular suffix - in it
• *niqšeh*: niphal participle masculine singular - distressed/hardened
• *rāʿēb*: adjective masculine singular - hungry
• *hāyāh*: qal perfect 3rd masculine singular - it will be
• *yirʿab*: qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular - he is hungry
• *hitqaṣṣap*: hithpael perfect 3rd masculine singular - he will become angry
• *qillēl*: piel perfect 3rd masculine singular - he will curse
• *malkô*: noun masculine singular + 3rd masculine singular suffix - his king
• *ʾĕlōhāyw*: noun masculine plural + 3rd masculine singular suffix - his God
• *pānāh*: qal perfect 3rd masculine singular - he will turn/look
• *māʿlāh*: noun feminine singular - upward/above

Word Meanings

• *niqšeh*: distressed/hardened/oppressed
• *hitqaṣṣap*: become angry/be furious/be enraged
• *qillēl*: curse/revile/treat with contempt
• *pānāh lə-māʿlāh*: look upward/turn to heaven/gaze above

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged, and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.

• King James Version 1769 (Standard 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.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And they shall pass{H5674} through it, sore distressed{H7185} and hungry;{H7457} and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry,{H7456} they shall fret{H7107} themselves, and curse{H7043} by their king{H4428} and by their God,{H430} and turn{H6437} their faces upward:{H4605}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And they shall pass{H5674}{(H8804)} through it, hardly bestead{H7185}{(H8737)} and hungry{H7457}: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry{H7456}{(H8799)}, they shall fret{H7107}{(H8694)} themselves, and curse{H7043}{(H8765)} their king{H4428} and their God{H430}, and look{H6437}{(H8804)} upward{H4605}.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Yf he do not this, he stombleth and suffreth huger. And yf he suffre honger, he is out of pacience, and blasphemeth his kynge and his God. Then loketh he vpwarde, and downewarde to the earth,

• Geneva Bible (1560)

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

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And they shall wander thorowe this lande hardly besteade and hungry, and when they suffer hunger, they wyll be out of pacience, and curse their king and their God, and shall loke vpwarde and downewarde to the earth,

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  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.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

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

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  -- 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.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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:

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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:

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  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;

• World English Bible (2000)

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

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  They will pass through the land destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, and they will curse their king and their God as they look upward.

Referenced Verses

• Isa 9:20 : 20 And he will snatch on the right hand and be hungry; and he will eat on the left hand and not be satisfied; they will eat every man the flesh of his own arm.
• Jer 14:18 : 18 If I go out to the field, then behold, those slain with the sword; and if I enter the city, then behold, those sick from famine! Yes, both prophet and priest roam about in a land they do not know.
• Jer 52:6 : 6 And in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine was severe in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
• Lam 4:4-5 : 4 The tongue of the nursing child clings to the roof of his mouth for thirst; the young children ask for bread, and no one breaks it for them. 5 Those who ate delicacies are desolate in the streets; those who were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.
• Lam 4:9-9 : 9 Those slain by the sword are better than those who die by hunger; for these waste away, stricken for want of the fruits of the field. 10 The hands of the compassionate women have cooked their own children; they were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
• Rev 9:20-21 : 20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
• Rev 16:9-9 : 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent to give Him glory. 10 And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, 11 and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
• Exod 22:28 : 28 You shall not revile the gods nor curse the ruler of your people.
• Deut 28:33-34 : 33 The fruit of your land, and all your labors, shall a nation which you know not eat up; and you shall be only oppressed and crushed always: 34 So that you shall be mad for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.
• Deut 28:53-57 : 53 And you shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters, which the LORD your God has given you, in the siege, and in the distress, with which your enemies shall distress you: 54 So that the man who is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave: 55 So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he has nothing left him in the siege, and in the distress, with which your enemies shall distress you in all your gates. 56 The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, 57 And toward her young one that comes out from between her feet, and toward her children who she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and distress, with which your enemy shall distress you in your gates.
• 2 Kgs 6:33 : 33 And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down to him: and he said, Behold, this evil is from the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?
• 2 Kgs 25:3 : 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
• Job 1:11 : 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face."
• Job 2:5 : 5 But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.
• Job 2:9 : 9 Then his wife said to him, Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God, and die.
• Prov 19:3 : 3 The foolishness of man perverts his way, and his heart frets against the LORD.
• Isa 8:7-8 : 7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: 8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.