Isaiah 8:15
in Isaiah 8Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And many shall stumble thereon, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
KJV
And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
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This verse in Isaiah 8
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd many among them,.... Not all, though the greater part; for Christ was set for the falling and rising of many in Israel, Luk 2:34, shall stumble, and fall, and be broken: stumble at Christ, the stumbling stone; fall by unbelief into other sins and punishment, and be broken in pieces by this stone, Mat 21:44, and be snared, and be taken; and so die in their sins, and perish eternally. The allusion is to birds being taken in a snare or trap, or with bird lime, and therein or thereby held and detained.
This site's exposition
And He will be a sanctuary
on Isaiah 8:14-15
The Lord will be "a sanctuary," and "a stone of stumbling," one object with opposite effects as it is trusted or resisted. Paul joins it to Isaiah 28:16 at Romans 9:33, and Peter cites it at 1 Peter 2:8 of those who stumble by disobeying the word.
This site's exposition
Many will stumble over these
Barnes takes the stumbling as the Assyrian invasion, when many fell and were captured. Gill takes it of Christ, set for the falling and rising of many in Luke 2:34. Romans 9:33 joins this stone to Isaiah 28:16.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 11 onwards) For thus says the Lord to me: As He has taught me with His mighty hand, so that I do not walk in the way of this people, saying: Do not say, 'conspiracy'; everything this people says is a conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear or be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself, let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread. And He will be a sanctuary for you, but for the two houses of Israel, He will be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.
The Medieval Church1 voice
289. And because sometimes someone avoids occasions and does not run into them, he therefore removes this and shows the reception of the punishment and says, and very many of them shall stumble, against the offense he spoke of above, through faithlessness; indeed against the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Many - Not all; for there shall be a remnant, as was foretold, chap. iv, 2; vi, 13. Stumble - At that stone or rock, mentioned, ver. viii, 14. This was accomplished at the coming of the Messiah, whom the Jews rejected to their own destruction.
Some apply this to the unbelieving Jews, who rejected Christ, and to whom he became a stone of stumbling; for the apostle quotes this scripture with application to all those who persisted in their unbelief of the gospel of Christ ( 1 Pet. ii. 8 ); to them he is a rock of offence, because, being disobedient to the word, they stumble at it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And many among them - Many by the invasion under the Assyrian. Many were taken captive; many killed. and many were carried to Babylon. The repetition here of so many expressions so nearly synonymous is emphatic, and shows that it would be certainly done.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The words of Jehovah. confederacy--rather, a conspiracy; an appropriate term for the unnatural combination of Israel with Syrian foreigners against Judea and the theocracy, to which the former was bound by ties of blood and hereditary religion [MAURER]. to all . . . say--rather, of all which this people calleth a conspiracy [G.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-brackets
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And it shall be for a portent That plan that Shebna plotted and that Pekah plotted to overthrow the kingdom of the House of David, shall be an omen [a preparationmss.] of the disaster destined to befall them.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכָ֥שְׁלוּ | vekhashelu | and they will stumble | H3782 → | 62 times |
| בָ֖ם | vam | over them | ||
| רַבִּ֑ים | rabim | many [people] | H7227 → | 454 times |
| וְנָפְל֣וּ | venafelu | and they will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| וְנִשְׁבָּ֔רוּ | venishbaru | and they will be broken | H7665 → | 147 times |
| וְנוֹקְשׁ֖וּ | venokshu | and they will be ensnared | H3369 → | |
| וְנִלְכָּֽדוּ׃ ס | venilkadu | and they will be captured | H3920 → | 121 times |
וְכָ֥שְׁלוּand they will stumble
vekhasheluH3782 →62 times
בָ֖םover them
vam
רַבִּ֑יםmany [people]
rabimH7227 →454 times
וְנָפְל֣וּand they will fall
venafeluH5307 →435 times
וְנִשְׁבָּ֔רוּand they will be broken
venishbaruH7665 →147 times
וְנוֹקְשׁ֖וּand they will be ensnared
venokshuH3369 →
וְנִלְכָּֽדוּ׃ סand they will be captured
venilkaduH3920 →121 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
Matthew 21:44He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 8:14–15
And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Peter 2:8
and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.
- Isaiah 8:14–15
Through
John 6:66From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.
it leads to
- Luke 9:62
Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
- 1 John 2:19
They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of…
- John 6:60
On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?”
- Hebrews 10:38
But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”
- John 8:31
So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.
- Luke 9:62
Through
Matthew 11:6Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.”
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 2:14
The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- 1 Corinthians 2:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.