Isaiah 8:21

“And they shall pass through it, &c.] The land, as the Targum and Kimchi supply it; that is, the land of Judea, as Aben Ezra interprets it. Here begins an account of the punishment that should be inflicted on the Jews, for their neglect of the prophecies of the Old Testament, and their rejection of the Messiah: hardly bestead and hungry; put to the greatest difficulty to get food to eat, and famishing for want of it; which some understand of the time when Sennacherib’s army was before Jerusalem, as Aben Ezra; but it seems better, with others, to refer it to the times of Zedekiah, when there was a sore famine, (<245206>Jeremiah 52:6) though best of all to the besieging of Jerusalem, by the…”

“More detailed description of the despair, which they shall fall into, who sought necromancy instead of God; Isa 8:20 implies that too late they shall see how much better it would have been for them to have sought "to the law," &c. (Deu 32:31). But now they are given over to despair. Therefore, while seeing the truth of God, they only "curse their King and God"; foreshadowing the future, like conduct of those belonging to the "kingdom of the beast," when they shall be visited with divine plagues (Rev 16:11; compare Jer 18:12). through it--namely, the land. hardly bestead--oppressed with anxiety. hungry--a more grievous famine than the temporary one in Ahaz' time, owing to Assyria; then there…”

“And they shall pass - The people who have been consulting necromancers. This represents the condition of these who have sought for counsel and direction, and who have not found it. They shall be conscious of disappointment, and shall wander perplexed and alarmed through the land. Through it - Through the land. They shall wander in it from one place to another, seeking direction and relief. Hardly bestead - Oppressed, borne down, agitated. The meaning is, that the people would wander about, oppressed by the calamities that were coming upon the nation, and unalleviated by all that soothsayers and necromancers could do. And hungry - Famished; as one effect of the great calamities that would…”

“It - Their own land. Hungry - Sorely distressed, and destitute of food, and all necessaries. Their king - Either because he doth not relieve them; or because by his foolish counsels, he brought them into these miseries. God - Their idol, to whom they trusted, and whom they now find unable to help them. Look - To heaven for help. Isaiah 8:22”

“through: Isa 8:7, Isa 8:8 hardly bestead: Isa 9:20; Deu 28:33, Deu 28:34, Deu 28:53-57; Kg2 25:3; Jer 14:18, Jer 52:6; Lam 4:4, Lam 4:5, Lam 4:9, Lam 4:10 they shall fret: Pro 19:3 curse: Exo 22:28; Kg2 6:33; Job 1:11, Job 2:5, Job 2:9; Rev 9:20, Rev 9:21, Rev 16:9-11 Isaiah 8:22”

“The night of despair to which the unbelieving nation would be brought, is described in Isa 8:21, Isa 8:22 : "And it goes about therein hard pressed and hungry: and it comes to pass, when hunger befals it, it frets itself, and curses by its king and by its God, and turns its face upward, and looks to the earth, and beyond distress and darkness, benighting with anguish, and thrust out into darkness." The singulars attach themselves to the לו in Isa 8:19, which embraces all the unbelievers in one mass; "therein" (bâh) refers to the self-evident land ('eretz). The people would be brought to such a plight in the approaching Assyrian oppressions, that they would wander about in the land pressed…”