Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 8:21

"And they shall pass through it, sore distressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse by their king and by their God, and turn their faces upward:" — Isaiah 8:21 (ASV)

And they shall pass - The people who have been consulting necromancers. This represents the condition of those who have sought counsel and direction, and who have not found it. They will be conscious of disappointment and will wander perplexed and alarmed through the land.

Through it - Through the land. They will wander in it from one place to another, seeking direction and relief.

Hardly bestead - Oppressed, borne down, agitated. The meaning is that the people would wander about, oppressed by the calamities that were coming upon the nation, and unalleviated by all that soothsayers and necromancers could do.

And hungry - Famished; as one effect of the great calamities that would afflict the nation.

They shall fret themselves - They will be irritated at their own folly and weakness and will aggravate their sufferings by self-reproaches for having trusted to false gods.

Their king and their God - The Hebrew interpreters understand this of the false gods which they had consulted, and in which they had trusted. But their looking upward, and the connection, seem to imply that they would rather curse the true God—the king and the God of the Jewish people. They would be subjected to the proofs of his displeasure and would vent their malice by reproaches and curses.

And look upward - For relief. This denotes the condition of those in deep distress, instinctively casting their eyes to heaven for aid. Yet it is implied that they would do it with no right feeling and that they would see there only the tokens of their Creator’s displeasure.