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.

ISAIAH 8:21KJV
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Isaiah 8:21 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 8:21 mean?

Isaiah 8:21 pictures people in the land facing severe hardship and hunger. Their suffering turns to anger, and they curse both their king and their God. The verse shows a community under strain, with resentment reaching toward both earthly and heavenly authority.

Isaiah describes people moving through the land in distress. “Hardly bestead” is an old way of saying that they are severely afflicted or hard-pressed. Their upward look ends the verse without explaining what they see; verse 22 continues the picture as they look toward the earth.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 8:21

  • “fret” — קָצַף (qatsaph): This word carries the sense of becoming angry or enraged. The KJV’s “fret themselves” can sound like quiet worry, but the word points to anger that accompanies their hunger.
  • “curse” — קָלַל (qalal): This word can mean to treat as insignificant or to speak contemptuously of someone. Here, it gives force to the people’s hostile words against their king and their God.

Why Isaiah 8:21 matters

  • The verse includes both human and divine targets of anger. “Their king” names the ruler, while “their God” names the one they turn against alongside him.
  • The upward glance is part of a larger movement of the eyes. In verse 22, the people look toward the earth as well, where they see distress and darkness.
  • The suffering follows a warning about seeking guidance elsewhere. Earlier in the passage, Isaiah 8:19 speaks of consulting people who claim to contact the dead; verse 21 moves the scene from that warning to a picture of desperate conditions.

Where else these words appear

“hungry” Hebrew H7456 · used in 11 verses

  • Genesis 41:55 And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.
  • Psalms 50:12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
  • Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

“hungry” Hebrew H7457 · used in 22 verses

  • 1 Samuel 2:5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
  • Psalms 107:5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
  • Isaiah 29:8 It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.

“bestead” Hebrew H7185 · used in 28 verses

  • Genesis 35:16 And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
  • 1 Samuel 5:7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
  • Nehemiah 9:17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

“fret” Hebrew H7107 · used in 32 verses

  • Genesis 40:2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
  • Deuteronomy 9:19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.
  • Isaiah 47:6 I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.