John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 8:22

"and they shall look unto the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and into thick darkness [they shall be] driven away." — Isaiah 8:22 (ASV)

And when they shall look to the earth. The meaning will then be, that the Jews will be converted to God, because they will be deprived of every assistance on the earth, and will see nothing but frightful calamities, to whatever side they turn their eyes.

Behold, trouble and darkness. These words are partly figurative and partly literal, for by dimness and darkness he means nothing else than adversity, according to the custom of Scripture. But he adds, driven to darkness. This aggravates the calamity to an amazing degree, for if one who is in darkness is driven or pushed forward, he is far more in danger of stumbling than before. Thus he intimates that to a heavy calamity another still heavier will be added, so that they may be more completely ruined. For he means nothing else than that God's judgments will be so dreadful, and the punishments so severe, that, whether they will or not, they will be constrained to look up to heaven.