이사야 8:19의 주석

And when they say to you Said Rabbi Simon: Beeri, the father of Hosea son of Beeri, prophesied these two verses, but, since they were not enough for a Book, they were attached to “Isaiah.” And he prophesied them concerning the exile of the ten tribes, when Sennacherib exiled the Reubenites and the Gadites, and he exiled him with them, as it is said (I Chron. 5:6): “Beerah his son, whom Tilgathpilneser exiled; he was the prince of the Reubenites.”

To you. He addresses his pupils.

And when they say to you [i.e., when] the nations [say to you].

המצפצפים That peep. צִפְצֵף has a meaning similar to רִּבֵּר; comp. אצפצף I shall peep (38:14).

Inquire of the necromancers...who chirp and who moan This is a derogatory expression, for they have not even any speech, but like these birds who chirp with their voice. The expression of chirping and moaning applies to birds, as below (48:14): “Like a swift or a crane I chirp, I moan like a dove.” Similarly, we find the expression of chirping in regards to a low voice, as it is said (infra 29:4): “And your voice shall be like a necromancer from the earth, and from the dust shall your speech chirp.”

והמהגים. Hiphil. And they that cause others to mutter.

Does not this people inquire of its God? This shall be your reply: Does not a people like us, who has a God like our God, inquire of its God? Would you tell us to be like you, to inquire of the needs of the living from the dead?

Surely a people that seeketh unto their God, etc.²⁸A. V.: Should not a people seek unto their God? This is the reply.²⁹To those that advise to consult wizards and them that have familiar spirits. Surely such is a people that seeketh unto his God! sarcastically and ironically said.³⁰Comp. the words of Elijah, 1 Kings 18:27. How could one seek unto the lifeless idols for the benefit of the living.