Isaiah 8:22

Myles Coverdale Bible

and beholde, there is trouble and darcknesse, vexacion is rounde aboute him, and the cloude of erroure And out of soch aduersite, shall he not escape.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They will look toward the earth and see only distress, darkness, and the gloom of affliction, and they will be driven into thick darkness.

Hebrew Names Version
and they shall look to the eretz, and see, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and into thick darkness [they shall be] driven away.

King James Version
And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

English Standard Version
And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

New American Standard Bible
Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.

New Century Version
They will look around them at their land and see only trouble, darkness, and awful gloom. And they will be forced into the darkness.

Amplified Bible
Then they will look to the earth, they will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness and overwhelming night.

World English Bible
and they shall look to the earth, and see, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and into thick darkness [they shall be] driven away.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And when he shall looke to the earth, beholde trouble, and darkenes, vexation and anguish, and he is driuen to darkenes.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be banished into thick darkness.

Berean Standard Bible
Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and the gloom of anguish. And they will be driven into utter darkness.

Contemporary English Version
and on earth, they will find only trouble and darkness, terrible trouble and deepest darkness.

Complete Jewish Bible
or [down] at the earth, they will see only trouble and darkness, anguished gloom and pervasive darkness. But there will be no more gloom for those who are now in anguish. In the past the land of Z'vulun and the land of Naftali were regarded lightly; but in the future he will honor the way to the lake, beyond the Yarden, Galil-of-the-Goyim.

Darby Translation
and they will look to the earth; and behold, trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they shall be driven into thick darkness.

Easy-to-Read Version
And when the captives turn their faces to the ground, there is only a depressing darkness closing in—the dark sadness of people forced to leave their country.

George Lamsa Translation
And they shall look to the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, tribulation and dimness shall scatter them; but he shall not afflict him who is in distress as in the former time.

Good News Translation
or stare at the ground, but they will see nothing but trouble and darkness, terrifying darkness into which they are being driven.

Lexham English Bible
or look to the earth. But look! Distress and darkness, the gloom of affliction! And it will be thrust into darkness!

Literal Translation
And they shall look to the land. And, behold, trouble and darkness and gloom of anguish; and they are driven to darkness.

American Standard Version
and they shall look unto the earth, and, behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and into thick darkness they shall be driven away.

Bible in Basic English
And he will be looking down on the earth, and there will be trouble and dark clouds, black night where there is no seeing.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
or look unto the earth, behold distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and outspread thick darkness. For is there no gloom to her that was stedfast? Now the former hath lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but the latter hath dealt a more grievous blow by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in the district of the nations.

King James Version (1611)
And they shall looke vnto the earth: and behold trouble and darkenesse, dimnesse of anguish; and they shall be driuen to darkenesse.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And beholde there is trouble and darknesse, dymnesse is rounde about him, & he shalbe driuen into darknesse.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and they shall look on the earth below, and behold severe distress, and darkness, affliction, and anguish, and darkness so that one cannot see; and he that is in anguish shall not be distressed only for a time.

English Revised Version
and they shall look unto the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and into thick darkness they shall be driven away.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And it schal loke to the erthe, and lo! tribulacioun, and derknessis, and vnbyndyng, ether discoumfort, and angwisch, and myist pursuynge; and it schal not mow fle awei fro his angwisch.

Update Bible Version
and they shall look to the earth, and see distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and into thick darkness [they shall be] driven away.

Webster's Bible Translation
And they shall look to the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and [they shall be] driven to darkness.

New English Translation
When one looks out over the land, he sees distress and darkness, gloom and anxiety, darkness and people forced from the land.

New King James Version
Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.

New Living Translation
and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.

New Life Bible
Then they will look to the earth and see trouble and darkness and suffering and will be driven out into darkness.

New Revised Standard
or they will look to the earth, but will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be thrust into thick darkness.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And unto the land, shall they look hard, And lo! distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, driven away!

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they shall look to the earth, and behold trouble and darkness, weakness and distress, and a mist following them, and they cannot fly away from their distress.

Revised Standard Version
and they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be thrust into thick darkness.

Young's Literal Translation
And unto the land it looketh attentively, And lo, adversity and darkness! -- Dimness, distress, and thick darkness is driven away, But not the dimness for which she is in distress!

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.

Contextual Overview

¹⁶ Now laye the witnesses together (sayde the LORDE) and seale the lawe with my disciples. ¹⁷ Thus I waite vpon the LORDE, that hath turned his face from the house of Iacob, and I loke vnto him. ¹⁸ But lo, as for me, and the children which the LORDE hath geuen me: we are a token and a wondre in Israel, for the LORDE of hoostes sake, which dwelleth vpon the hill of Syon. ¹⁹ And therfore yf they saye vnto you: aske councel at the soythsayers, witches, charmers and coniurers, then make them this answere: Is there a people enywhere, that axeth not councel at his God: whether it be concernynge the dead, or the lyuynge? ²⁰ Yf eny man want light, let him loke vpon the lawe and the testimony, whether they speake not after this meanynge. ²¹ Yf he do not this, he stombleth and suffreth huger. And yf he suffre honger, he is out of pacience, and blasphemeth his kynge and his God. Then loketh he vpwarde, and downewarde to the earth, ²² and beholde, there is trouble and darcknesse, vexacion is rounde aboute him, and the cloude of erroure And out of soch aduersite, shall he not escape.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

look: Isaiah 5:30, Isaiah 9:1, 2 Chronicles 15:5, 2 Chronicles 15:6, Jeremiah 13:16, Jeremiah 30:6, Jeremiah 30:7, Amos 5:18-20, Zephaniah 1:14, Zephaniah 1:15, Matthew 8:12, Matthew 24:29, Luke 21:25, Luke 21:26, Jude 1:13

driven to darkness: Job 18:18, Proverbs 14:32, Jeremiah 23:12, Matthew 22:13

Reciprocal: Genesis 4:14 - driven Exodus 10:21 - darkness Job 15:22 - He believeth not Job 20:26 - darkness Job 22:11 - darkness Job 38:15 - from Psalms 88:12 - dark Proverbs 19:3 - fretteth Isaiah 9:19 - is the land Isaiah 24:11 - all joy Isaiah 50:11 - ye shall Joel 2:2 - A day of darkness Nahum 1:8 - darkness Revelation 16:10 - full

Cross-References

Genesis 8:8
Then sent he forth a doue from him, to wete, whether the waters were falle vpon the earth.

Genesis 8:9
But when ye doue coude fynde no restynge place for hir fete, she came agayne vnto him in to the Arcke, for the waters were yet vpon the face of all the earth. And he put out his hande, and toke her to him in to the Arke.

Genesis 8:11
& she returned vnto him aboute the euen tyde: and beholde, she had broken of a leaf of an olyue tre, & bare it in hir nebb. Then Noe perceaued, that the waters were abated vpon the earth.

Genesis 8:12
Neuertheles he taried yet seuen other dayes, and sent forth the doue, which came nomore to him agayne.

Genesis 8:16
Go out of the Arke, thou and thy wyfe, and thy sonnes, and thy sonnes wyues with the.

Genesis 8:17
As for all the beastes that are with the, what so euer flesh it be (both foule & catell and all maner of wormes that crepe vpon the earth) let them go out with the, and be ye occupied vpon the earth, growe and multiplye vpon the earth.

Genesis 8:20
And Noe buylded an altare vnto ye LORDE, and toke of all maner of cleane beastes & of all maner of cleane foules, and offred bret sacrifices vpon ye altare.

Genesis 45:6
For these are now two yeares, that ye derth hath bene in the lande, and there are yet fyue yeares behynde, wherin there shalbe no plowinge ner haruest.

Exodus 34:21
Sixe dayes shalt thou labor, vpon ye seueth daye shalt thou rest both from plowinge and reapynge.

Jeremiah 5:24
They thinke not in their hartes: O let vs feare the LORDE oure God, that geueth vs rayne early and late, when nede is: which kepeth euer still the haruest for vs yearly.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they shall look unto the earth,.... As persons in distress, upwards and downwards, backwards and forwards, on the right hand and on the left, particularly into the land of Judea; a land that used to flow with milk and honey, a land of light, plenty, and prosperity:

and behold trouble and darkness; adversity, and miseries of all kinds, expressed by a variety of words; and even words fail to express the tribulation of these times, which were such as were not from the beginning of the world, Matthew 24:22:

dimness of anguish; or "fleeing from affliction" e, multitudes everywhere fleeing from one place to another, to avoid the calamities coming upon them, Matthew 24:16:

and [they shall be] driven to darkness; when they endeavour to escape one calamity, they shall be driven and fall into another; the whole land shall be full of nothing else.

e מעוף a עוף "volare", Forerius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And they shall look unto the earth - They would look upward and find no relief, and then in despair cast their eyes to the earth to obtain help there. Yet equally in vain. The whole image is one of intense anguish brought on the nation for leaving the counselor the true God.

And behold ... - see the note at Isaiah 5:30.

Trouble - Anguish, oppression, צרה tsârâh, from צור tsûr, to oppress, to straiten, to afflict. This is a remarkable instance of the prophet Isaiah’s manner - of a rapid, impetuous, and bold style of utterance. He accumulates images; piles words on each other; and deepens the anxiety by each additional word, until we almost feel that we are enveloped by the gloom, and see objects of terror and alarm on every side.

Dimness of anguish - These words should be kept separate in the translation - צוּקה מעוּף m^e‛ûp tsûqâh, “darkness, oppression” - accumulated epithets to heighten the gloom and terror of the scene.

And they shall be driven to darkness - Hebrew, מנדה ואפלה va'ăpēlâh m^enudāch a darkness that is driven, or that is urged upon itself; that becomes condensed, accumulated, until it becomes terrible and frightful. The idea is that of a driving tempest, or an involving obscurity (מנדה m^enudāch from נדה nâdâh, to push, thrust, impel, urge on, as a driving storm). The prophet has thus accumulated every possible idea of gloom and obscurity, and probably there is not anywhere a more graphic description of gathering darkness and trouble, and of the consternation of those involved in it, than this. So fearful and terrific are the judgments of God when he comes forth to punish people!