The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said,
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,
- BSB 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:
- 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,
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, in the heat of my spirit; and Yahweh’s hand was strong on me.
- Prov 1:15My son, don’t walk on the path with them. Keep your foot from their path,
- Ps 32:8I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go. I will counsel you with my eye on you.
- Jer 20:9If I say, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name, then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I can’t.
- Acts 4:20for we can’t help telling the things which we saw and heard.”
- Jer 15:19Therefore Yahweh says, “If you return, then I will bring you again, that you may stand before me; and if you take out the precious from the vile, you shall be as my mouth. They shall return to you, but you shall not return to them.
- Jer 20:7Yahweh, you have persuaded me, and I was persuaded; you are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I have become a laughing-stock all day. Every one mocks me.
- Ezek 2:6–8You, son of man, don’t be afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you, and you do dwell among scorpions. Don’t be afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, 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.