And when they shall say to you, Seek to them that have familiar spirits, and to wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek to their God? for the living to the dead?
seek
Isaiah 19:3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
Leviticus 20:6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
Deuteronomy 18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
that peep
Isaiah 29:4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
should not
1 Samuel 28:16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
2 Kings 1:3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?
2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
for the living
Psalm 106:28 They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
1 Thessalonians 1:9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
shouldn’t a people consult their God instead?
This rhetorical question emphasizes the absurdity of seeking guidance from the dead or from spirits when the living God, who is all-knowing and all-powerful, is available to His people. It underscores the covenant relationship between God and Israel, where God promised to be their guide and protector (Exodus 19:5-6). The call to consult God instead of mediums is a reminder of the prophets' role as God's mouthpiece, providing divine guidance and revelation. This phrase also connects to the broader biblical theme of seeking wisdom and understanding from God alone (James 1:5).
Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
This question challenges the logic and efficacy of seeking wisdom from the dead, who have no power or knowledge to influence the living. It reflects the biblical understanding that God is the source of life and truth, and only He can provide the guidance necessary for living a righteous life. The futility of consulting the dead is further illustrated in the story of King Saul and the medium of Endor (1 Samuel 28), where Saul's desperation leads him to seek counsel from a spirit, resulting in his downfall. This phrase reinforces the biblical teaching that life and wisdom come from God alone, and it foreshadows the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ as the living Word and ultimate source of life (John 1:4, John 14:6).
Isaiah pictures neighbors urging God’s people to dabble in the occult. The same pressure exists today—horoscopes, tarot, “harmless” séances. Scripture speaks plainly:
- “Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out” (Leviticus 19:31).
- King Saul’s tragic visit to a medium when God seemed silent (1 Samuel 28:6-7) shows the danger.
- Deuteronomy 18:10-12 calls these practices “abominations.”
God’s Word never treats occult curiosity as neutral entertainment; it is rebellion against His voice.
Isaiah mocks the eerie, secretive sounds of séances—the low hisses meant to imitate the dead. In contrast:
- The Lord speaks clearly: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
- Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice” (John 10:27), not garbled riddles.
- The Holy Spirit guides “into all truth” (John 16:13).
The prophet exposes how the occult offers obscurity, while God offers clarity.
This rhetorical question calls Israel—and us—to sanity. We have immediate access to the living God:
- “Seek the LORD while He may be found” (Isaiah 55:6).
- “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence” (Hebrews 4:16).
- When wisdom is needed, “ask God, who gives generously” (James 1:5).
Choosing mediums over God is like ignoring a direct line to the King to chase rumors in alleyways.
The dead cannot guide the living; only the living God can.
- “The dead do not praise the LORD” (Psalm 115:17), but He “is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Matthew 22:32).
- At the empty tomb the angels asked, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5-6).
- Occult fascination leads to bondage (Galatians 5:19-21), yet Christ came to give abundant life (John 10:10).
Isaiah’s question exposes the absurdity of replacing the Source of life with lifeless spirits.
Isaiah 8:19 is a loving but sharp warning: do not trade the clear, life-giving counsel of God for the shadowy whispers of the occult. The Lord offers open access, wisdom, and life; mediums offer confusion, bondage, and spiritual death. Therefore, turn from every occult enticement and seek the living God who speaks plainly through His Word.
(19) And when they shall say unto you . . .--This then was the temptation to which the disciples of Isaiah were exposed, and to which they were all but yielding. Why should not they do as others did, and consult the soothsayers, who were in such great demand (Isaiah 2:6), as to the anxious secrets of the coming years. The words point to some of the many forms of such soothsaying (Deuteronomy 18:10). The "familiar spirit" (the English term being a happy paraphrase rather than a translation), is closely connected, as in the case of the witch of Endor (1Samuel 28:1-20), with the idea of necromancy, i.e., with the claim to have a demon or spirit of divination (Acts 16:16), on the part of the wizards (comp. Hom. Il. xxiii. 10; Virg. ?n., vi. 492) that "peep" (old English for "pipe," "chirp," "whisper") "and mutter." This peculiar intonation, thrilling each nerve with a sense of expectant awe, seems to have been characteristic of the soothsayers of Isaiah's time (Isaiah 29:4).Should not a people seek unto their God? . . .--That, the prophet says, is the only true pathway to such knowledge as is good for man. The latter part of the question is abruptly elliptical: Are men to seek on behalf of the living to the dead? What ground, he seems to ask, have we for thinking that the spirits of the dead can be recalled to earth, or, if that were possible, that they know more than the living do? May it not even be that they know less? The prophet views the state of the departed as Hezekiah views it (Isaiah 38:18), as one, not of annihilation, but of dormant or weakened powers. . . .
Verses 19-22. - ISAIAH RECOMMENDS LOOKING TO GOD AND THE REVEALED WORD RATHER THAN TO NECROMANCY. AFFLICTION WILL BRING ISRAEL TO GOD. Isaiah returns, in ver. 19, to the consideration of his disciples. In the terrible times impending, they will be recommended to have recourse to necromancy; he urges that they should look to God and the Law. He then further suggests that, in the coming affliction which he describes (vers. 21, 22), men will generally turn for relief to the same quarter (ver. 20). Verse 19. - Seek unto them that have familiar spirits. In times of great distress the Israelites seem always to have been tempted to consult those among them who pretended to magic and divination. So Saul in the Philistine war resorted to the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:7-20); Manasseh, threatened by Esar-haddon, "used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards" (2 Kings 21:6). Israel generally, oppressed by Syria and Assyria, "used divination and enchantments" (2 Kings 17:17). There was the same inclination now on the part of many Jews. The vexed question of the actual powers possessed by such persons cannot be discussed within the limits of a footnote. It has, moreover, already been treated in the present Commentary, in connection with Leviticus 19:31. Wizards that peep, and that mutter; rather, that chirp and mutter. Tricks of the ventriloquists, probably, who disguised their voices, and represented that they were the voices of ghosts (comp. Isaiah 29:4). The natural speech of some tribes has been compared to the "chirping of birds" (Herod., 4:183; Hornemann, 'Travels,' p. 119). Should not a people, etc.? Very abrupt and elliptical Isaiah means to say, "Do not attend to them; but answer, Should not a people," etc.? For the living. This may either mean "instead of the living," or "on behalf of the living seek to the dead?" or, Would not that be plainly preposterous?