For this is what the LORD has spoken to me with a strong hand, instructing me not to walk in the way of this people:
Parallel translations
- WEB For Yahweh spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
- KJV For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
- NKJV For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:
- NASB For so the Lord spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
- NLT The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God strongly warns Isaiah not to follow the fearful, faithless path of the people around him.
Overview
With a "strong hand," God presses Isaiah to think and live differently from his unbelieving generation. The prophet must not share their political panic or their idolatrous fears. The verse calls God's faithful ones to a holy nonconformity rooted in trusting the Lord rather than the crowd.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ezek 3:14So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
- Prov 1:15my son, do not walk the road with them or set foot upon their path.
- Ps 32:8I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.
- Jer 20:9If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.
- Acts 4:20For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
- Jer 15:19Therefore this is what the LORD says: “If you return, I will restore you; you will stand in My presence. And if you speak words that are noble instead of worthless, you will be My spokesman. It is they who must turn to you, but you must not turn to them.
- Jer 20:7You have deceived me, O LORD, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.
- Ezek 2:6–8But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 8:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.