KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
To get what Isaiah 8:20 means based on its source text, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Hebrew | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Hebrew word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “To the law” | לְתוֹרָ֖ה | A precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch | law |
| “and to the testimony:” | וְלִתְעוּדָ֑ה | Attestation, i.e., a precept, usage | testimony |
| “if” | אִם | Used very widely as demonstrative, lo!; interrogative, whether?; or conditional, if, although; also Oh that!, when; hence, as a negative, not | if |
| “they speak” | יֹֽאמְרוּ֙ | To say (used with great latitude) | speak |
| “not” | לֹ֤א | Not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles | not |
| “according to this” | הַזֶּ֔ה | The masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or that | according |
| “word,” | כַּדָּבָ֣ר | A word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause | word |
| “it is” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “because” | אֲשֶׁ֥ר | Who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc | because |
| “there is” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “no” | אֵֽין | A nonentity; generally used as a negative particle | no |
| “light” | שָֽׁחַר׃ | Dawn (literal, figurative or adverbial) | light |
| “in them.” | שָֽׁחַר׃ | Dawn (literal, figurative or adverbial) | in them |
See Isaiah 8:20 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
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18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.