The Nugget:
Isaiah 34:16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
My Comment:
The Scriptures should be read. This passage, Isaiah 34:16, was printed on the front of the light blue book jacket of The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge I bought with the $5 bill my Aunt Ethel sent me for Christmas. I wrote the date December 24, 1955 as a record of when I bought my copy. That one book has provided me a lifetime of service. It has been the greatest encouragement to Bible study of any resource I have ever owned. We are indeed to follow the words recorded in Isaiah 34:16, “Seek ye out of the book of the Lord and read.” I was a teenager when I began to seriously and regularly read the Bible. That should let you know that even teenagers can enjoy reading the Bible. Teenagers can also learn to use cross references like those found in The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. I developed an expanded edition called The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge which contains many more cross references more accurately keyed to the words for each verse. I added more explanatory notes and seven indexes. I also developed a system of symbols to show which cross references are the clearest, which are the most crucial, which are examples of fulfilled prophecy, and which provide even more cross references to follow. Beyond that, I devised an edition of these references largely without any notes or comments and with only one symbol to indicate where to find more references. That volume, Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible, contains all the references of the New Treasury but consolidated to avoid duplication. That was done to make the book shorter. You can find collections of good references in the center column of the MacArthur Study Bible, The ESV Study Bible, The NLT Study Bible, The NIV Study Bible, and The Lutheran Study Bible. I have been pleasantly surprised in my own Bible study to find out how good the cross references are in The NIV Study Bible, and The Lutheran Study Bible. The most complete cross references are to be found in The New Treasury and in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible. The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge is available in Bible software. Cross references in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge will greatly enhance the value of other Bible study tools and study Bibles. When studying the Bible using the Thompson Chain Reference Bible, itself one of the very best resources for Bible study, you can discover even more verses on a subject that interests you if you use The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge along with it. For example, if you study Genesis 3:15 using Thompson Chain Reference Bible, you will be lead to much information about Messianic Prophecy. Using The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge at the same verse you will find many more references. If you follow the “+” sign and continue studying at Genesis 49:10 you will find many more references on the subject. This can be done for any verse on any subject. I find the Bible to always be an exciting read. God has placed so much food for our spiritual lives in His written Word that you will never run out of material for a tasty meal!
For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:
(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 752 for Isaiah 34:16.
(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 781 or in Logos 5 Bible software for Isaiah 34:16.
(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:
Isaiah 34:16. Seek. Is 1:17. 8:19, +**Is 8:20. 28:13. Dt 31:21. Josh 1:8. 1 Ch 28:8. *Pr 23:12. Da 10:21. Am 3:7. Mt 4:10. +*Mk 12:24. +**Jn 5:39. *Jn 10:35. **Ac 17:3, 11. 2 Tim 3:15. *2 P 1:19. book. roll or scroll. ver. Is 34:4. Is 19:11. 30:8. 65:6. +*Ex 17:14. Dt 32:34. *Ps 56:8. *Da 7:10. 9:2. **Ml 3:16. +*2 Tim 3:16. Re 5:1. of the Lord. This proves there was a book in existence, which could be searched (CB). Is 29:11-13. +Ex 17:14. +Ex 24:4, 7. 34:27. Nu 33:1, 2. Dt 1:5. 4:2, 8. 17:18. 26:16. 27:8. 29:21. 31:9-13, 19, 22, 24-26. +*Jsh 1:8. 8:30-35. 23:6, 7. 24:26. 1 S 10:25. 1 K 2:1-4. 2 K 11:12. 14:6. 17:35, 37. **2 K 22:8, 10. 2 Ch 17:7-9. 23:11. 25:4. 30:2, 5, 18. **2 Ch 34:14n. 35:12. Ezr 3:2. 6:18. 7:6, 10, 14 21, 25. 9:11, 12. 10:3. Ne 1:7-9. *Ne 8:8, 14, 17. 10:28, 29. 13:1. Est 3:8. +*Ps 1:2. +*Je 15:16. Dan 9:11. Mal 4:4. Mt 15:1-9. Mk 7:1-13. +*Lk 24:44. +*Re 1:11. read. lit. “call,” for reading in the east is generally done aloud (Young). T#1063. Is 8:3 (call). Is 12:4mg. Is 29:11, 12. 40:2 (cry), Is 40:6. *Is 55:6. 58:1. Dt 17:19. Ne 13:1. Lk 16:29-31. Re 1:3. no one. Is 55:11. *Mt 5:18. Lk 21:33. shall fail. F/L *Is 40:26. want her mate. Is 14:31. 1 S 20:6. 25:15. my mouth. Is 1:20. 40:5. 46:10. 58:14. Ge 6:17. Nu 23:19. Ps 33:6, 9. spirit. Heb. ruach, Ex 15:8.
isa 34.16 Seek from the book of the Lord, and read: Not one of these
will be missing; None will lack its mate. For His mouth has commanded.
and His Spirit has gathered for them.
encouraging cross refs. ( the best commentary on the bible is the bible).
1. isa 30.8 Now go, write it on a tablet before them and inscribe it on a
scroll, That it may serve in the time to come As a witness forever.
2. dt 31.21 Then it shall come about, when many evils and troubles have come
upon them, that this song will testify before them as a witness (for it shall not be
forgotten from the lips of their descendants); for i know their intent which they
are developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.
3. isa 8.20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this
word, it is because they have no dawn.
4. amos 3.7 Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel
To His servants the prophets.
5. mal 3.16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave
attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those
who fear the Lord and who esteem His name.
6. jn 5.39 You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal
life; and it is these that bear witness of Me;
7. jn 10.35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came( and the Scripture
cannot be broken)
8. 2 pe 1.19 And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well
to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the
morning star arises in you hearts.
9. mt 5.18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest
letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.
10. lk 21.33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.