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?

ISAIAH 8:19KJV
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Isaiah 8:19 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 8:19 mean?

Isaiah 8:19 challenges the suggestion that people should consult those who claim to contact spirits. The verse asks why living people would turn to the dead for guidance when they have their own God to seek.

The opening words imagine someone urging Isaiah’s hearers to visit mediums and “wizards,” people thought to have access to hidden knowledge. Their strange sounds create a vivid picture of the practices being recommended. The questions that follow challenge the choice those hearers face.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 8:19

  • “Seek” — דָּרַשׁ (darash): This word can mean to inquire of someone or seek an answer. The same word appears for consulting the spirits and for seeking God, placing the two sources of guidance side by side.

  • “peep” — צָפַף (tsaphaph): This word describes a chirping or twittering sound. Here it portrays the high-pitched noises associated with the people being consulted, not a quick look.

  • “mutter” — הָגָה (hagah): This word can describe a low sound or murmuring. In this verse, the word adds a second sound to the picture of the mediums’ speech.

Why Isaiah 8:19 matters

  • The final phrase contrasts the living with the dead. The question “for the living to the dead?” asks whether the dead are a fitting source of guidance for those still alive.

  • The verse presents the proposal as something Isaiah’s hearers may be told by others: “when they shall say unto you.” The warning responds to a real choice of voices and sources of advice.

  • The connection with verse 20 makes the issue one of testing what people say. “To the law and to the testimony” points the hearers back to the teaching and testimony already given.

Where else these words appear

“peep” Hebrew H6850 · used in 4 verses

  • Isaiah 10:14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.
  • Isaiah 29:4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
  • Isaiah 38:14 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me.

“wizards” Hebrew H3049 · used in 11 verses

  • Leviticus 19:31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
  • Deuteronomy 18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
  • 2 Kings 21:6 And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

“spirits” Hebrew H178 · used in 16 verses

  • Leviticus 19:31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
  • 1 Samuel 28:7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.
  • 1 Chronicles 10:13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;

“mutter” Hebrew H1897 · used in 24 verses

  • Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
  • Psalms 63:6 When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
  • Isaiah 16:7 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.