Isaiah 29 11

Isaiah 29:11 kjv

And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:

Isaiah 29:11 nkjv

The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed."

Isaiah 29:11 niv

For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, "Read this, please," they will answer, "I can't; it is sealed."

Isaiah 29:11 esv

And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed."

Isaiah 29:11 nlt

All the future events in this vision are like a sealed book to them. When you give it to those who can read, they will say, "We can't read it because it is sealed."

Isaiah 29 verses

Isaiah 29 11 Meaning

The vision presented is one of comprehensive spiritual blindness. God will bring a divine silencing upon His people. This will extend to every level of understanding, rendering them unable to comprehend God's words and actions. The text emphasizes that the prophetic message will be sealed or hidden, becoming inaccessible to those who have rejected God's ways. This affliction is a consequence of their spiritual insensitivity and rebellion.

Isaiah 29 11 Context

Isaiah chapter 29 addresses a period of divine judgment upon Judah, specifically focusing on Jerusalem and its surrounding areas. The prophecy follows a historical context where the people have shown spiritual apathy and allegiance to outward religious practices without true devotion. The chapter describes Jerusalem as a city under siege and spiritual attack. This specific verse, Isaiah 29:11, elaborates on the nature of God's judgment as a pervasive spiritual blindness. It's not just a physical confinement or political subjugation, but a deliberate blinding of understanding, preventing them from perceiving God's truth. This judgment is a response to their accumulated disobedience and their turning away from the clear word of God, echoing warnings given in Deuteronomy and prophesied by earlier prophets. The literary context places it within Isaiah's broader prophetic mission to warn and, at times, pronounce judgment upon a recalcitrant people, while also hinting at future restoration.

Isaiah 29 11 Word Analysis

• And (וְ, wə): Conjunction connecting this verse to the preceding judgment.
• all (כֹּל, kol): Denotes entirety, emphasizing the pervasiveness of the spiritual sealing. Every aspect of revelation is affected.
• the (הַ, ha): Definite article.
• vision (מַרְאָה, mar’ah): Refers to the prophetic revelation, the entire divine message conveyed through Isaiah.
• is (הָיְתָה, hay’tah): Imperfect verb, indicating a state of being or becoming.
• unto (אֶל, ’el): Preposition indicating direction or relationship.
• you (כֶּם, kɛm): Plural masculine pronoun, referring to the people of Judah.
• as (כַּ, ka): As, like.
• the (הַ, ha): Definite article.
• words (דִּבְרֵי, divrê): Refers to speech, matters, or divine pronouncements.
• of (Construct state): Indicates possession or relation.
• a (noun in construct state): No indefinite article in Hebrew.
• sealed (חָתוּם, ḥatum): Passive participle, meaning sealed, closed, or hidden. It implies that the divine communication is made inaccessible, like a document sealed for preservation or concealment. The root חתם (ḥatam) signifies to seal, sign, or close.
• book (סֵפֶר, sɛp̄ɛr): Refers to a written scroll or document.
• Which (אֲשֶׁר, ’ǎšɛr): Relative pronoun.
• if (אִם, ’im): Conditional particle.
• one (אֶחָד, ’eḥād): Numeral.
• should (וְאִם, wə’im): Connective and conditional.
• give (יִתֵּן, yit-tɛn): Verb "to give".
• it (אֹתוֹ, ’ōtō): Pronoun referring to the sealed book.
• to (אֶל, ’el): Preposition.
• one (אֶחָד, ’eḥād): Another "one."
• which (אֲשֶׁר, ’ǎšɛr): Relative pronoun.
• is (יֹדֵעַ, yōdēa‘): Present participle, meaning knowing or understanding.
• learned (לָמַד, lamad): Verb "to learn" or "be taught."
• he (אֲנִי, ’anî): First-person pronoun.
• saith (אָמַר, ’āmar): Verb "to say."
• I (הַ, ha): Definite article.
• am (part of speech): Implied.
• not (לֹא, lō): Negative particle.
• learned (לֹא, lō): Negated participle.
• for (כִּי, kî): Causal conjunction.
• I (אֲנִי, ’anî): First-person pronoun.
• am (part of speech): Implied.
• unlearned (הֶבֶל, hæḇel): Literally "vanity" or "breath," implying lack of substance or skill.

Groups of Words Analysis:

• "all the vision...sealed": This signifies a comprehensive cessation of understanding, not merely a partial or temporary blindness. The entirety of God's prophetic communication is rendered unintelligible.
• "words of a sealed book": This paints a picture of a document locked away, its contents hidden from view. The spiritual inability is likened to not being able to read a sealed scroll.
• "if one give it to one which is learned, saying, Read this": This highlights the futility of providing the sealed message to those who are conventionally learned. Their existing wisdom or secular education does not equip them to understand divine revelation.
• "he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed": This is the ultimate response of those who receive the sealed vision. Their inability is attributed to the seal of divine judgment, rendering human learning insufficient.
• "for I am not learned": This implies that the people addressed have also lost the ability to learn from God’s word due to their spiritual condition. The statement may also reflect a chosen ignorance or a pride in their lack of spiritual discernment.

Isaiah 29 11 Bonus Section

The imagery of a "sealed book" resonates deeply with other biblical concepts. In Daniel 12:4, Daniel is told to "shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end," indicating that much prophecy would be hidden until a later period. The book of Revelation, too, has a sealed scroll (Rev 5), the breaking of whose seals reveals God's ultimate purposes. This Isaiah passage, however, describes a judgment of incomprehensibility in the present, not just future hiddenness. It’s crucial to note that this spiritual sealing is a judicial act by God, a response to willful disobedience and the rejection of His word. It's not arbitrary but a direct consequence, as stated in Romans 1:28: "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient." The theme of spiritual blindness is a consistent thread throughout Scripture, often linked to hardened hearts and the deliberate avoidance of truth.

Isaiah 29 11 Commentary

Isaiah 29:11 describes a profound spiritual affliction that will fall upon God's people. It signifies that divine revelation, meant to be understood and applied, will become inaccessible to them. This sealing affects all levels of spiritual perception, preventing both leaders and the general populace from grasping the meaning of God's pronouncements. Even if the sacred texts, metaphorically represented as a "sealed book," were given to those conventionally considered learned, they would be unable to comprehend them. Their learnedness would not extend to understanding the mysteries of God’s kingdom, as this understanding is divinely imparted. This judgment serves as a consequence of their pervasive disobedience and the hardness of their hearts, leading to a deliberate obscuring of the truth. It foreshadows the spiritual blindness that many experienced when Christ came, fulfilling the prophecy Jesus himself cited. The inability to read the "sealed book" represents a state of spiritual death and separation from God's active communication, highlighting the dire consequences of persistent rejection of divine guidance.