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Bind up the testimony and seal the law among my disciples.
Isaiah 8:16 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Wrap up the testimony. Seal the law among my disciples.
  • KJV Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
  • NKJV Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples.
  • NASB Bind up the testimony, seal the Law among my disciples.
  • NLT Preserve the teaching of God; entrust his instructions to those who follow me.

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

Isaiah is to preserve God's testimony among his disciples until the prophecy is vindicated by events.

Overview

The teaching is to be "bound up and sealed" entrusted to a faithful circle of disciples. When the foretold judgment comes, the preserved word will prove true. This points to a believing remnant who keep God's word alive even when the wider nation rejects it.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 24

  • Dan 12:4But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”
  • Heb 3:5Now Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be spoken later.
  • Matt 13:11He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
  • Mark 4:10–11As soon as Jesus was alone with the Twelve and those around Him, they asked Him about the parable.
  • Rev 19:10So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
  • Isa 29:11–12And the entire vision will be to you like the words sealed in a scroll. If it is handed to someone to read, he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.”
  • Mark 4:34He did not tell them anything without using a parable. But privately He explained everything to His own disciples.
  • 1 Cor 2:14The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
  • Deut 4:45These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances that Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt,
  • Isa 8:20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
  • Rev 5:1Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One seated on the throne. It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals.
  • 2 Kgs 11:12Then Jehoiada brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, presented him with the Testimony, and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and declared, “Long live the king!”
  • Rev 5:5Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
  • Rev 2:17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.
  • Dan 9:24Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
  • 1 Jn 5:9–12Even if we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony that God has given about His Son.
  • Dan 12:9–10“Go on your way, Daniel,” he replied, “for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.
  • Isa 54:13Then all your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be their prosperity.
  • Rev 10:4When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to put it in writing. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”
  • Isa 8:1–2Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
  • Mark 10:10When they were back inside the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter.
  • Ps 25:14The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
  • Prov 8:8–9All the words of my mouth are righteous; none are crooked or perverse.
  • John 3:32–33He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 8:16YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 8:16 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.