Bible Strands
Isaiah 30:8
Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the days to come, a witness forever and ever.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God commands the prophet to record a message before the rebellious people of Judah who are actively refusing divine instruction. This directive occurs during a moment of national crisis when the nation is preparing to rely on Egypt instead of trusting the LORD.
The words — כָתְבָ֥/הּ (kha.te.Va/h) translates literally to “write it,” and ל֛וּחַ (Lu.ach) means “a tablet.” These terms specify the physical medium and the imperative action required to preserve the message.
The thread — This recording command parallels Moses writing a song in Deuteronomy 31:22, Isaiah inscribing a vision in Isaiah 8:1, and God instructing Habakkuk to fix a vision on tablets in Habakkuk 2:2. Each instance uses written documentation to establish an enduring, unchangeable testimony.
Why it lands — The text demands that a divine warning be permanently fixed in visible form so future generations cannot deny or alter it. It requires the reader to treat written Scripture as an unassailable legal and spiritual record rather than a temporary suggestion.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 31:22 So that very day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites.
- Isaiah 8:1 Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
- Habakkuk 2:2 Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.
- Deuteronomy 31:19 Now therefore, write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites; have them recite it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them.
- Jeremiah 36:2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you during the reign of Josiah until today.
- Jeremiah 36:28 “Take another scroll and rewrite on it the very words that were on the original scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah has burned.
- Jeremiah 51:60 Jeremiah had written on a single scroll about all the disaster that would come upon Babylon—all these words that had been written concerning Babylon.
- Numbers 24:14 Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you what this people will do to your people in the days to come.”
- Job 19:23 I wish that my words were recorded and inscribed in a book,
- Deuteronomy 4:30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.