Isaiah 30:8
in Isaiah 30Go 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever.
KJV
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:
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This verse in Isaiah 30
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 8.) Now, write for them on a tablet. Carefully inscribe it in the book: and it shall be a testimony until the last day. The Hebrews say that in the Prophets there is one spirit, and all times are connected before the Lord. Jeremiah commands, and it is God's command, that he writes on a tablet when entering Egypt, which is made of imperishable wood. Or, as Symmachus translates, on a wide board.
This site's exposition
write it on a tablet in their presence
on Isaiah 30:8-9
Isaiah is told to "write it on a tablet in their presence". The reason follows at once: "These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to obey the LORD’s instruction". John Gill took the written record as proof for a later generation that the warning had been given.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
John ChrysostomDISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 5:4.6 · Written before 407.
proposed
[Isaiah] set his prophecy down in writing in a new book so that, after his prophecy was fulfilled, what he had written might bear witness against the Jews of what the inspired prophet predicted to them a long time before. This is why he did not simply write it in a book, but in a new book, a book capable of staying sturdy for a long time without easily falling apart, a book which could last until the events described in it would come to pass.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he sets out the confirmation of the command. Now therefore, you, Isaiah, go in, by prophetic vision, or you, Jeremiah, go in, into Egypt with the people, as it says in Jeremiah 43; third, he assigns the fruit of this confirmation: and it shall …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Let it be written, that it may not be lost; their children may profit by it, though they will not. To justify God in the judgments he was about to ring upon them; people will be tempted to think he was too hard upon them, and over-severe, unless they know how very bad they were, how very provoking, and what fair means God tried with them before he brought it to this extremity.
A gracious promise to those who trusted in God, that they should not only see through the trouble, but should see happy days after it, times of joy and reformation, plenty of the means of grace, and therewith plenty of outward good things and increasing joys and triumphs (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
For ever and ever “For a testimony for ever” - לעד leed. So the Syriac, Chaldee, Vulgate, and Septuagint, in MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. 2: εις μαρτυριον, which two words have been lost out of the other copies of the Septuagint.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
table--a tablet (Hab 2:2), which should be set in public, containing the prophecy in a briefer form, to be read by all. a book--namely, a parchment roll, containing the prophecy in full, for the use of distant posterity.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Now go - This is a direction to the prophet to make a permanent record of the character of the Jewish people. The fact to be recorded was, that they were rebellious Isa 30:9; the design for which the record was to be made was to show to future times that this had been the uniform character of the nation. The record was to be preserved that it might be a proof of the care of God toward the nation even in the midst of their long-continued and obstinate perverseness. Write it before them - Before the Jews themselves, that they may see the record, and may have it constantly before them. In a table - Or ON a table. The word לוח lûach denotes a tablet either of stone to engrave upon Deu 9:9; Exo 31:18; or of wood 1Ki 7:36. It is not improbable that this was to be exposed to public view in some conspicuous place near the temple. And note it - Engrave it; that is, record it. In a book - On parchment, or in the usual way of writing (see the note at Isa 8:1). For the time to come - Hebrew as Margin, ‘The latter day.’ It was to be made in order that future ages might know what had been the character of that people, and what had been the patience and forbearance of God in regard to them.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַתָּ֗ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| בּ֣וֹא | bo' | go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| כָתְבָ֥הּ | khatevah | write it | H3789 → | 224 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| ל֛וּחַ | luach | a tablet | H3871 → | |
| אִתָּ֖ם | ʾitam | with them | H854 → | 929 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| סֵ֣פֶר | sefer | a scroll | H5612 → | 186 times |
| חֻקָּ֑הּ | chukah | inscribe it | H2710 → | 19 times |
| וּתְהִי֙ | utehi | so may it be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְי֣וֹם | leyom | for a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אַחֲר֔וֹן | ʾacharon | future | H314 → | 51 times |
| לָעַ֖ד | laad | for ever | H5703 → | 49 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עוֹלָֽם׃ | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
עַתָּ֗הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
בּ֣וֹאgo
bo'H935 →2568 times
כָתְבָ֥הּwrite it
khatevahH3789 →224 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
ל֛וּחַa tablet
luachH3871 →
אִתָּ֖םwith them
ʾitamH854 →929 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
סֵ֣פֶרa scroll
seferH5612 →186 times
חֻקָּ֑הּinscribe it
chukahH2710 →19 times
וּתְהִי֙so may it be
utehiH1961 →3559 times
לְי֣וֹםfor a day
leyomH3117 →2304 times
אַחֲר֔וֹןfuture
ʾacharonH314 →51 times
לָעַ֖דfor ever
laadH5703 →49 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
עוֹלָֽם׃perpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Habakkuk 2:2Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.
it leads to
- Revelation 14:13
And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors,…
- Revelation 1:18–19
the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
- Deuteronomy 31:22
So that very day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites.
- Revelation 21:5–8
And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”
- Daniel 12:4
But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”
- Revelation 14:13
Through
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…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 30:2
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.
- Exodus 17:14
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”
- Jeremiah 30:2
Through
Deuteronomy 31:19Now 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.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:21–22
And when many troubles and afflictions have come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants. For I know their inclination, even…
- Deuteronomy 31:21–22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Chrysostom, DISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 5:4.6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.