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The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it falls on Israel.
Isaiah 9:8 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.
  • BSB The Lord has sent a message against Jacob, and it has fallen upon Israel.
  • NKJV The Lord sent a word against Jacob, And it has fallen on Israel.
  • NASB ¶The Lord sends a message against Jacob, And it falls on Israel.
  • NLT The Lord has spoken out against Jacob; his judgment has fallen upon Israel.

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 sends a word of judgment that will surely fall upon the northern kingdom of Israel.

Overview

After the bright Messianic promise, Isaiah returns to address the pride and coming judgment of the north (Jacob/Israel). The "word" God sends is his decree of discipline, certain to take effect. This begins a section with the refrain of God's unrelenting anger against an unrepentant people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Zech 1:6But my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, didn’t they overtake your fathers? “Then they repented and said, ‘Just as Yahweh of Armies determined to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our practices, so he has dealt with us.’”
  • Isa 7:7–8This is what the Lord Yahweh says: “It shall not stand, neither shall it happen.”
  • Isa 8:4–8For before the child knows how to say, ‘My father,’ and, ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”
  • Mic 1:1–9Yahweh’s word that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
  • Zech 5:1–4Then again I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, a flying scroll.
  • Matt 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

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 9:8YouTube · 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 9:8 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.