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18 Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me: we are signs[a] and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.(A)

19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of ghosts and soothsayers who chirp and mutter;[b](B) should not a people inquire of their gods, consulting the dead on behalf of the living, 20 for instruction and testimony?” Surely, those who speak like this are the ones for whom there is no dawn.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. 8:18 Signs: in the meantime, while awaiting the vindication of his message, Isaiah and his children with their symbolic names stood as a reminder of God’s message to Israel.
  2. 8:19 Chirp and mutter: a mocking reference to necromancers.
  3. 8:20 Surely…no dawn: reliance on necromancy brings futility.

18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.(A) We are signs(B) and symbols(C) in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.(D)

The Darkness Turns to Light

19 When someone tells you to consult(E) mediums and spiritists,(F) who whisper and mutter,(G) should not a people inquire(H) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction(I) and the testimony of warning.(J) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light(K) of dawn.

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