"Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?" (8:19). What does the chapter say about seeking the dead?

It answers with questions, then a command. When people say, "Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter" (8:19), the chapter asks, "shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?" (8:19). Then: "Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them" (8:20). The Law speaks to it too. Deuteronomy says there shall not be found among the people "someone who consults with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer" (Deuteronomy 18:11), "For whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD" (Deuteronomy 18:12), and Leviticus says, "Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards" (Leviticus 19:31). Isaiah 8:19 doesn't say whether the dead can answer; it asks why a people would go to them instead of to their God. The chapters on Leviticus 20 and 1 Samuel 28 set 8:19 beside those laws, and 1 Samuel 28's honest question looks at what happened at Endor. These notes don't go beyond the verses.