Isaiah 8:12

“Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The LORD speaks directly to Isaiah, instructing him to reject the panic-driven worldview of the surrounding populace. This command occurs amid a period of national anxiety over political alliances.

The words — קֶ֔שֶׁר (Ke.sher) translates literally as "conspiracy," and תֹאמְר֣וּ (tom.Ru/n) means "you must say." The text commands rejecting the label of conspiracy that the people apply to political events.

The thread — The warning against shared dread appears in 1 Peter 3:14, Luke 21:9, and Psalms 53:5. These passages cross-reference the prohibition against adopting the fears of the surrounding culture.

Why it lands — The text demands that a reader refuse to adopt the panic of others and reserve fear exclusively for God. It requires a conscious rejection of cultural dread in favor of theological focus.

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

לֹא־lo'-not תֹאמְר֣וּןtom.Ru/nyou must say/ !קֶ֔שֶׁרKe.sherconspiracy לְכֹ֧לle./Kholof/ all אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-that יֹאמַ֛רyo.Marit is saying הָעָ֥םha./'Amthe/ people הַזֶּ֖הha./Zeh<the>/ this קָ֑שֶׁרKa.sherconspiracy וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>מוֹרָא֥וֹmo.ra.'/Ofear/ its לֹֽא־lo'-not תִֽירְא֖וּti.re.'Uyou must fear וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not תַעֲרִֽיצוּ׃ta.'a.Ri.tzuyou must regard with awe

King James Version

Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

Cross-references

1 Peter 3:14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.”
Luke 21:9 When you hear of wars and rebellions, do not be alarmed. These things must happen first, but the end is not imminent.”
Psalms 53:5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to fear. For God has scattered the bones of those who besieged you. You put them to shame, for God has despised them.
Isaiah 51:12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?
Isaiah 30:1 “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
Luke 12:4 I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
2 Kings 16:5 Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him.
Isaiah 57:9 You went to Molech with oil and multiplied your perfumes. You have sent your envoys a great distance; you have descended even to Sheol itself.
Isaiah 7:2 When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.
Matthew 28:2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it.