Isaiah 8:18-22

New Living Translation

¹⁸ I and the children the Lord has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion.

¹⁹ Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?

²⁰ Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark. ²¹ They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven ²² 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.