Bible Strands
Isaiah 8:20
To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Isaiah addresses Judah amid a crisis of spiritual confusion, directing the people to abandon necromancy and rely solely on divine revelation.
The words — The verse anchors on לְתוֹרָה (le-torah, "to the instruction") and לִתְעוּדָה (li-t'udah, "to the testimony"), presented as the paired standard for evaluating any claimed message.
The thread — This insistence on written revelation as the definitive light appears in Psalms 119:130, 2 Timothy 3:15, and 2 Peter 1:19, where Scripture functions as the authoritative measure for discernment.
Why it lands — The text commands that any teaching be tested against the established word, declaring that rejection of this standard leaves seekers in darkness and eventual despair.
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
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Cross-references
- 2 Peter 1:19 We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
- 2 Timothy 3:15 From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
- Psalms 119:130 The unfolding of Your words gives light; it informs the simple.
- John 5:39 You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,
- Acts 17:11 Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.
- 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.
- John 5:46 If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me.
- Jeremiah 8:9 The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have?
- Hosea 6:3 So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.
- Mark 7:7 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’