Acts 28 26

Acts 28:26 kjv

Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:

Acts 28:26 nkjv

saying, 'Go to this people and say: "Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive;

Acts 28:26 niv

"?'Go to this people and say, "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving."

Acts 28:26 esv

"'Go to this people, and say, "You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive."

Acts 28:26 nlt

'Go and say to this people:
When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.

Acts 28 verses

MeaningThis verse is Paul's poignant quotation from Isaiah 6:9-10 to the Jewish leaders in Rome, signifying the spiritual insensitivity of many in Israel to the message of the Gospel. It declares that despite hearing the truth and seeing the evidence of God's work, their spiritual faculties remain unresponsive, leading to a profound lack of understanding and perception concerning the Messiah and His kingdom.

Cross References

ContextActs 28 marks the climax of the book, with Paul arriving in Rome, the heart of the Roman Empire, under house arrest but with freedom to preach. After three days, Paul, upholding his custom, invited the leading Jews of the city. He explained his innocence and his unwavering faith in "the hope of Israel," the Messiah, Jesus Christ. From morning until evening, Paul reasoned with them from the Law and Prophets concerning Jesus. Some believed, but others remained unconvinced. Faced with this division and rejection of the Gospel by many of the Jewish leaders, Paul solemnly pronounced this prophecy from Isaiah 6:9-10, emphasizing that their persistent unbelief led to a judicial hardening. This declaration served as a significant theological marker in Acts, highlighting that because of Israel's widespread rejection, the message of salvation would now definitively go to the Gentiles. It is a moment of both lament and resolved turning, fulfilling earlier patterns seen throughout Paul's missionary journeys.

Word analysis

• Saying: Indicates Paul is quoting directly from Scripture, lending divine authority to his words by attributing them to the Lord via Isaiah.
• ‘Go (Πορεύθητι - poreuthēti): A command conveying a divine imperative. In Isaiah, God commissions the prophet. Here, Paul speaks to Israel's historical stubbornness as described by God.
• to this people (πρὸς τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον - pros ton laon touton): "This people" refers specifically to Israel, particularly those Jewish leaders Paul addressed, representing a larger segment of unresponsive Jews. The phrasing can carry a nuance of lament or separation due to their persistent unbelief.
• and say (καὶ εἰπόν - kai eipon): Another direct imperative, underscoring the straightforward and unalterable nature of the divine message delivered to an unresponsive people.
• “You will indeed hear (ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε - akoē akousete): A Greek Hebraism (from the Hebrew שָׁמוֹעַ תִשְׁמָעוּ - shamoa tishma’u, lit. "hearing, you will hear"). This emphatic construction underscores that they will physically receive the truth, yet tragic lack of spiritual comprehension follows. It highlights intellectual engagement without spiritual understanding.
• but never understand (καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε - kai ou mē synēte): "Synēte" (understand) implies mentally grasping or discerning. "Ou mē" is a strong double negative in Greek, meaning "absolutely never" or "by no means," emphasizing an absolute inability to grasp spiritual implications. This points to a state of judicial hardening.
• and you will indeed see (βλέποντες βλέψετε - blepontes blepsete): Another Greek Hebraism (from the Hebrew רָאוֹ בַעֵינֵיכֶם - ra'o ba'eyneykhem, lit. "seeing, you will see"). Similar to "hearing, you will hear," this means they will literally perceive external realities and events related to the Messiah and His kingdom, like miracles or fulfilled prophecy.
• but never perceive (καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε - kai ou mē idēte): "Idēte" (perceive, from horaw) denotes not just physical sight but spiritual discernment, deep insight, and experiencing understanding. Again, "ou mē" asserts an absolute lack of such perception, demonstrating an impenetrable spiritual blindness despite outward evidence.

Word-Group Analysis:

• "Go to this people, and say": This phrase functions as a prophetic commission, highlighting Paul's role as an authoritative messenger speaking God's enduring word and demonstrating the consistent message regarding Israel's spiritual condition from Isaiah's time to Paul's.
• "You will indeed hear but never understand; and you will indeed see but never perceive.": This parallel construction (hearing/understanding, seeing/perceiving) is central. It encapsulates the spiritual tragedy: an abundance of external revelation (hearing the Gospel, seeing the signs of God's work) met with a profound spiritual incapacity to truly comprehend and respond in faith. It describes a condition of judicial hardening, where persistent resistance to divine truth culminates in the removal of spiritual receptivity. It stands as a lament over unresponsiveness despite God's clear revelation.

CommentaryActs 28:26 marks a pivotal moment, signaling the definitive turn of the Gospel mission to the Gentiles in the Book of Acts. Paul's quotation from Isaiah encapsulates the theological reason for this shift: a widespread spiritual insensitivity and persistent rejection of Christ by many in Israel. This "hardening" is understood not as an arbitrary act of God to prevent belief, but as a just consequence of continued human resistance to truth, leading to a state where divine understanding becomes inaccessible. Despite witnessing miracles and hearing the Word, a deep spiritual blindness prevailed, justifying Paul's decision to announce that salvation would now flow openly to all nations. This climactic pronouncement underscores divine justice, the freedom of human will to resist, and the sovereign purpose of God in bringing His universal plan of salvation to fruition.

Bonus section

• The use of emphatic idioms like "hearing, you will hear" indicates that the failure to understand is not due to a lack of clarity in God's message or a scarcity of evidence. Rather, it is fundamentally a condition of the heart—a deep-seated spiritual resistance that impacts intellectual and spiritual discernment.
• This prophetic passage highlights a pattern in biblical history: consistent human rebellion leads to a divine response where receptivity to God's truth is diminished or removed. This judicial hardening, however, in God's redemptive plan, ultimately served to open the door wider for the inclusion of the Gentiles (Rom 11).
• Paul's application of Isaiah 6:9-10 in Rome demonstrates the prophetic continuity from the Old Testament to the New. The spiritual conditions described in Isaiah's era concerning Israel's unresponsiveness echo through the ministries of Jesus and the Apostles, revealing God's consistent dealings with humanity.
• While addressed to a specific historical context of Israel's leaders, the principle of spiritual hardening due to persistent unbelief and resistance to the Holy Spirit has universal implications for anyone who consistently rejects divine truth.
• Luke, the author of Acts, uses this declaration to provide theological justification for the ultimate trajectory of the Gospel, fulfilling Jesus' command to reach "the end of the earth" by formally shifting the primary evangelistic focus from Jerusalem to Rome, and from a predominantly Jewish audience to the Gentile world.