Isaiah 8:13

13 Jehovah of Hosts -- Him ye do sanctify, And He [is] your Fear, and He your Dread,

Isaiah 8:13 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 8:13

Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself
Christ, Immanuel, God with us, the Lord of the armies above and below, of angels and of men, God over all, the true Jehovah, who is sanctified by his people, when they declare him to be so; as the Targum paraphrases it,

``the Lord of hosts, him shall ye say is holy;''

for they cannot make him so, nor can he receive any holiness from them, nor does he need any; but they celebrate the perfection of his holiness, and ascribe it to him; yea, they sanctify him, by ascribing their holiness to him; by looking to him as their sanctification, and by deriving and expecting every degree and measure of holiness from him, to complete theirs; by exercising faith upon him, and showing a regard to his commands and ordinances: and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread;
that is, the object of fear and dread; not of a servile fear and dread, but of a holy reverence and godly fear; such a fear as is the grace of the covenant, which flows from the goodness of God, and has that for its object, and is influenced by it; see ( Hosea 3:5 ) where the same Lord, Messiah, David the king, is meant, as here. See ( 1 Peter 3:15 ) .

Isaiah 8:13 In-Context

11 For thus hath Jehovah spoken unto me with strength of hand, and instructeth me against walking in the way of this people, saying,

12 `Ye do not say, A confederacy, To all to whom this people saith, A confederacy, And its fear ye do not fear, Nor declare fearful.

13 Jehovah of Hosts -- Him ye do sanctify, And He [is] your Fear, and He your Dread,

14 And He hath been for a sanctuary, And for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of falling, To the two houses of Israel, For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

15 And many among them have stumbled and fallen, And been broken, and snared, and captured.