And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

ISAIAH 30:21KJV
Know the Bible

Isaiah 30:21 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 30:21 mean?

Isaiah 30:21 describes God’s people receiving direction about how to live. The verse presents that direction as a voice guiding them along a road, especially when they face a turn to the right or left.

After the mention of a teacher in verse 20, Isaiah pictures a word coming from behind the travelers. The voice tells them which way to go and calls them to follow it.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 30:21

  • “hear” — שָׁמַע (shamaʿ): This word means to hear or listen. It can also carry the sense of paying attention to what is heard, fitting the instruction to walk in the stated way.
  • “way” — דֶּרֶךְ (derek): This word can mean a road or path. Here the road serves as a picture of the direction the people are to follow.

Why Isaiah 30:21 matters

  • The direction comes after a time of hardship. Verse 20 speaks of “the bread of adversity” and “the water of affliction” before describing the people’s teacher.
  • The call to walk has a concrete setting in the passage. In verse 22, the people reject their idols, objects they had covered with silver and gold.
  • The promised guidance addresses a people who had sought help elsewhere. Earlier in the chapter, Isaiah criticizes their plan to seek protection from Egypt without asking God for direction (verses 1–2).

Where else these words appear

“left” Hebrew H8041 · used in 5 verses

  • Genesis 13:9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
  • 2 Samuel 14:19 And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid:
  • 1 Chronicles 12:2 They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul's brethren of Benjamin.