Isaiah 8:8
in Isaiah 8It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and it shall sweep onward into Judah; it shall overflow and pass through; it shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
KJV
And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
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This verse in Isaiah 8
Commentary
11 notes on this verseHe shall reach even to the neck - He compares Jerusalem, says Kimchi, to the head of the human body. As when the waters come up to a man’s neck, he is very near drowning, (for a little increase of them would go over his head), so the king of Assyria coming up to Jerusalem was like a flood reaching to the neck - the whole country was overflowed, and the capital was in imminent danger. Accordingly the Chaldee renders reaching to the neck by reaching to Jerusalem.
This site's exposition
the Lord will surely bring
on Isaiah 8:7-8
The Lord brings "the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates," the king of Assyria. The Hebrew speaks of outstretched wings, rendered "spreading streams," a bird of prey over the land. The prophet addresses "your entire land, O Immanuel," the name from chapter 7 returning to claim the threatened ground as his.
This site's exposition
O Immanuel
Clarke and Barnes take the neck as Jerusalem, the head the flood reaches without covering. Henry notes that the land is still called Immanuel's land, tying it to the sign of 7:14. Verse 10 gives the meaning of the name.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 5, et seq.) And the Lord added, speaking to me again, saying: Because this people has rejected the waters of Siloam that flow gently, and has preferred Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore behold, the Lord will bring upon them the mighty and abundant waters of the river, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise above all its channels, and overflow over all its banks. And it will pass through Judah, flooding and reaching up to the neck. And the spreading of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Emmanuel.
The Medieval Church1 voice
277. And shall pass through Judah. Here he foretells the tribulation running over into the two tribes. And first, he sets out the running over of the tribulation: and shall pass, namely, the impulse of water, through Judah, that is, through the land of Judea, …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Such was the danger of Judah's land, when Sennacherib took all the fenced cities of Judah, 2 Kings xviii, 13, and sent his army against Jerusalem. Wings - Of his forces, or of the wings of his army, as they still are called. My land - Of the land of Judah, so called because the Messiah, who is called Immanuel, should be born there.
And here is another comfortable intimation that though the stretching out of the wings of the Assyrian, that bird of prey, though the right and left wing of his army, should fill the breadth of the land of Judah, yet still it was Immanuel's land. It is thy land, O Immanuel! It was to be Christ's land; for there he was to be born, and live, and preach, and work miracles.
And he shall pass through Judah,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Great encouragement given to the people of God in the midst of those distractions; they are assured, 1. That the enemies shall not gain their point against them,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
pass through--The flood shall not stop at Syria and Samaria, but shall penetrate into Judea. the neck--When the waters reach to the neck, a man is near drowning; still the head is not said to be overflowed. Jerusalem, elevated on hills, is the head.
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
He shall ... - That is, the Assyrians - though still retaining the idea of an overflowing stream, or a deluge of waters. Reach even to the neck - Chaldee, ‘They shall come even to Jerusalem.’ ‘The prophet compares Jerusalem here,’ says Kimchi, ‘to the head of the human body. As when the waters reach to the neck of a man, he is very near drowning, so here, the prophet intimates that the whole land would be deluged, and that it would be nearly utterly destroyed.’ The figure thus understood is a very sublime one Jerusalem was situated on hills - elevated above the surrounding country, and, in reference to the whole land, might be aptly compared to the human head. Thus, Josephus (De Bello, lib. iii. ch. ii.), describing Jerusalem, says - Ἱεροσόλυμα προανίσχουσα τῆς περιοίκου πάσης, ὥσπερ ἡ κεφαλὴ σώματος Hierosoluma proanischousa tēs perioikou pasēs, hōsper hē kephalē sōmatos - “Jerusalem, eminent above all the surrounding region, as the head of the body.” The country is represented as being laid under water - a vast sea of rolling and tumultuous waves - with Jerusalem alone rising above them, standing in solitary grandeur amidst the heaving ocean, and itself in danger each moment of being ingulphed; see a similar figure, Isa 30:28: He is spirit is like a torrent overflowing It shall reach to the middle of the neck. And so also, Hab 3:13: Thou didst go forth for the salvation of thy people, For the salvation of thine anointed: Thou didst smite the head from the house of the wicked, Destroying the foundation even to the neck. And the stretching out of his wings - This is a continuation of the same idea under a new figure. The term wings is often applied to an army, as well in modern as in ancient writings. […]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְחָלַ֤ף | vechalaf | and it will pass on | H2498 → | 28 times |
| בִּֽיהוּדָה֙ | bihudah | in Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| שָׁטַ֣ף | shataf | it will overflow | H7857 → | 31 times |
| וְעָבַ֔ר | veavar | and it will pass over | H5674 → | 556 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| צַוָּ֖אר | tzavar | [the] neck | H6677 → | 42 times |
| יַגִּ֑יעַ | yagia' | it will reach | H5060 → | 150 times |
| וְהָיָה֙ | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מֻטּ֣וֹת | mutot | [the] spreading<s> of | H4298 → | |
| כְּנָפָ֔יו | kenafav | wings its | H3671 → | 109 times |
| מְלֹ֥א | melo' | [the] fullness of | H4393 → | 38 times |
| רֹֽחַב־ | rochav- | [the] breadth of | H7341 → | |
| אַרְצְךָ֖ | ʾartzekha | land your | H776 → | 2504 times |
| עִמָּ֥נוּ | ʾimanu | O Immanu- | H6005 → | 4 times |
| אֵֽל׃ ס | ʾel | -el | H6005 → | 4 times |
וְחָלַ֤ףand it will pass on
vechalafH2498 →28 times
בִּֽיהוּדָה֙in Judah
bihudahH3063 →819 times
שָׁטַ֣ףit will overflow
shatafH7857 →31 times
וְעָבַ֔רand it will pass over
veavarH5674 →556 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
צַוָּ֖אר[the] neck
tzavarH6677 →42 times
יַגִּ֑יעַit will reach
yagia'H5060 →150 times
וְהָיָה֙and it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
מֻטּ֣וֹת[the] spreading<s> of
mutotH4298 →
כְּנָפָ֔יוwings its
kenafavH3671 →109 times
מְלֹ֥א[the] fullness of
melo'H4393 →38 times
רֹֽחַב־[the] breadth of
rochav-H7341 →
אַרְצְךָ֖land your
ʾartzekhaH776 →2504 times
עִמָּ֥נוּO Immanu-
ʾimanuH6005 →4 times
אֵֽל׃ ס-el
ʾelH6005 →4 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 1:23“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
it leads to
- Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- Isaiah 9:6–7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…
- Psalms 46:11
The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
- Isaiah 7:14
Through
Isaiah 7:14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
it leads to
- Matthew 1:23
“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
- Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…
- John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 1:31
Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.
- John 1:1–2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- Matthew 1:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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On this verse
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.