Isaiah 8:18-20

Expanded Bible

¹⁸ ·I am here, and with me are [^LLook/^TBehold, I and] the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and ·proofs [symbols; warnings; omens] for the people of Israel from the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts], who ·lives [dwells] on Mount Zion.

¹⁹ Some people say, “Ask the mediums and ·fortune-tellers [necromancers; spiritists], who ·whisper [or chirp] and mutter [^Cusing incantations to call up spirits; 1 Sam. 28:8–11], what to do.” ·But I tell you that people should ask their God for help. Why should people who are still alive ask something from the dead? [or “Should not a nation consult their gods, asking the dead on behalf of the living?”; ^Cin this interpretation the quotation continues to the end of the verse]. ²⁰ ·You should follow the teachings and the agreement with the Lord [^L(Look) to the law/instruction and to the testimony]. ·The mediums and fortune-tellers do not [^LThose who do not; or If they do not] speak ·the word of the Lord [^Laccording to this word], ·so their words are worth nothing [or they are spiritually blinded; ^Lthey have no dawn].