Isaiah 8:13

13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be 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 the Lord spoke thus to me while his hand was strong upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying:

12 Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears, or be in dread.

13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

14 He will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; for both houses of Israel he will become a rock one stumbles over—a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

15 And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.