Isaiah 42:19 kjv
Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD's servant?
Isaiah 42:19 nkjv
Who is blind but My servant, Or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, And blind as the LORD's servant?
Isaiah 42:19 niv
Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like the servant of the LORD?
Isaiah 42:19 esv
Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the LORD?
Isaiah 42:19 nlt
Who is as blind as my own people, my servant?
Who is as deaf as my messenger?
Who is as blind as my chosen people,
the servant of the LORD?
Isaiah 42 19 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 6:9-10 | "Go, and say to this people: 'Hear continually, but do not understand...'." | Israel's prophesied spiritual dullness. |
| Isa 41:8 | "But you, Israel, My servant... whom I have chosen..." | God's calling of Israel as His servant. |
| Isa 43:8 | "Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes; and deaf, yet have ears." | Echoes the theme of seeing and hearing yet failing. |
| Isa 43:10 | "You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "and My servant whom I have chosen." | Israel's mission to be a witness, which their blindness impedes. |
| Isa 44:18-19 | "They have no knowledge... they do not see with their eyes..." | Similar language used for idol worshipers, connecting spiritual blindness. |
| Jer 5:21 | "Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not..." | Reiterates Israel's spiritual blindness. |
| Ezek 12:2 | "Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes..." | Prophet's task amidst a spiritually blind people. |
| Matt 13:14-15 | "You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive." | Jesus quotes Isa 6, applying it to contemporary Israel. |
| Matt 15:14 | "They are blind guides of the blind." | Jesus critiques religious leaders' spiritual blindness. |
| Mark 4:11-12 | "...so that seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear..." | Purpose of parables for those spiritually unresponsive. |
| Mark 8:17-18 | "Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear?" | Jesus confronts disciples' spiritual dullness. |
| Luke 24:25 | "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe..." | Disciples were slow to grasp Christ's mission. |
| John 9:39-41 | "For judgment I came into this world... those who are blind may see." | Jesus heals physical and spiritual blindness, condemning Pharisees' self-imposed blindness. |
| Rom 11:7-10 | "What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking... became hardened..." | Paul's discussion of Israel's partial hardening/blindness. |
| Deut 29:2-4 | "Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear." | Moses' lament about Israel's spiritual insensitivity even after miracles. |
| Ps 115:5-6 | "They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see..." | Description of idols; implicitly contrasting Israel who should 'see/hear'. |
| Isa 50:4-5 | "The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of those who are taught... opened My ear..." | Describes the true Servant's readiness to hear and obey. |
| Isa 53:1 | "Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" | Speaking of the world's unbelief and spiritual blindness regarding the Messiah. |
| John 12:37-41 | "Although He had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe..." | Cites Isa 6 about Israel's inability to believe and see Christ. |
| Acts 28:26-27 | "Go to this people, and say, 'You will indeed hear but never understand...'" | Paul applies Isa 6 again to the Jewish people who rejected the Gospel. |
| Rev 3:17-18 | "...poor and blind and naked. I advise you to buy... salve to anoint your eyes..." | Spiritual blindness in the Laodicean church. |
| Ps 94:9 | "He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see?" | God's absolute perception, contrasting Israel's failure to use their given faculties. |
| Heb 5:11-12 | "...you have become dull of hearing." | New Testament warning against spiritual immaturity and deafness. |
Isaiah 42 verses
Isaiah 42 19 Meaning
Isaiah 42:19 is a profound and rhetorical lament by God, highlighting the paradoxical spiritual blindness and deafness of His chosen servant, Israel. Despite being called to be God's messenger and a witness to the nations, Israel has failed to see or hear God's truth and intentions, thus rendering them spiritually inept in their divine mission. The verse points out the irony that the very people entrusted with God's message are the ones most impervious to it.
Isaiah 42 19 Context
Isaiah 42:19 is part of the first "Servant Song" (Isaiah 42:1-9) within the larger context of Isaiah's prophecies concerning God's unique Servant. Chapter 42 begins by describing a perfect Servant whom God will anoint with His Spirit to bring justice to the nations gently and faithfully. This Servant will be a light to the Gentiles and establish a covenant. However, in stark contrast to this ideal Servant, verse 19 abruptly shifts to highlight the failure of another servant: Israel. The preceding verses lament Israel's current state of captivity and need for deliverance. Following this, verse 19 dramatically emphasizes Israel's spiritual shortcomings—their blindness and deafness to God's will and message, despite being called for a special purpose. Historically and culturally, Israel was called out of idolatry and darkness to be God's special people, entrusted with His law and to be a witness to the nations, but they frequently failed this calling, reverting to spiritual insensitivity and moral failure. This passage reflects God's disappointment and frustration with His covenant people's spiritual dullness.
Isaiah 42 19 Word analysis
- Who: Hebrew
Mî(מִי). This interrogative particle emphasizes the rhetorical question. It's a statement veiled as a question, making the implied answer (Israel) more potent and accusatory. - is blind: Hebrew
ʿIwwēr(עִוֵּר). This is a literal term for physical blindness, but in prophetic context, it primarily signifies spiritual insensitivity, lack of discernment, inability to perceive God's truth, or understand His ways. - but My servant?: Hebrew
Kî ʿabdî(כִּי עַבְדִּי). "But/For My servant." Thekî(כי) introduces a causal or emphatic statement, indicating "for it is my servant." This phrase is the crucial paradox. "My servant" here specifically refers to corporate Israel, chosen and called by God, yet acting against its very nature and purpose. - Or deaf: Hebrew
Ḥērēš(חֵרֵשׁ). Likeʿiwwēr, it literally means physically deaf. Spiritually, it implies an inability to hear, comprehend, or respond to God's voice, commands, or prophetic messages. - as My messenger: Hebrew
Kim-malʾākî(כִּמַלְאָכִי). "Like/as My messenger/angel."Malʾākcan denote either a human messenger or a divine angel. Israel, as God's chosen nation (Ex 19:5-6), was designated to bear God's message and revelation to the world. To be "deaf" while holding such a role highlights a complete failure of duty and purpose. - whom I send?: Hebrew
ʾEshlaḥ(אֶשְׁלַח). "Whom I send." This emphasizes God's direct commissioning and intention for His servant/messenger, contrasting sharply with their demonstrated lack of ability to fulfill that mission due to spiritual deafness. - Who is blind: Repetition of
Mî ʿiwwēr(מִי עִוֵּר). The reiteration underscores the grave nature of the charge and reinforces the spiritual condition, creating a powerful rhetorical effect. - as he who is at peace with Me?: Hebrew
Kim-meshullāmî(כִּמְשֻׁלָּמִי). This word is debated by scholars but likely refers to "one at peace with Me," "My perfect one," or "My fully devoted one." The rootshalam(שלם) relates to wholeness, completion, peace, recompense, or payment. Here, it suggests someone in a covenant relationship, presumably in right standing or having been made whole by God. The profound irony is that this one who should be whole, perfect, and in covenant peace with God is utterly blind. Some interpretations link it to "My repaid/punished one," implying that their current state is a result of divine recompense. However, "at peace/complete" provides a sharper paradox. - Or blind: Hebrew
ʾŌ ʿiwwēr(אוֹ עִוֵּר). Yet another repetition, reinforcing the consistent theme of profound spiritual blindness. - as the LORD’s servant?: Hebrew
Kəʿebed Yahweh(כְּעֶבֶד יְהוָה). "As the servant of Yahweh." This echoes the earlier "My servant" but now uses the explicit covenant name of God,Yahweh. It re-emphasizes the high privilege and responsibility of being God's chosen, personal servant, which Israel has lamentably failed to uphold through its spiritual blindness.
Word-group analysis
- "Who is blind... but My servant?": This juxtaposition is a stark paradox. The very one expected to see and serve God faithfully is revealed as spiritually oblivious, challenging the traditional understanding of the chosen people.
- "Or deaf as My messenger whom I send?": Here, Israel's core mission (to carry God's message) is undermined by their spiritual inability to even hear the message themselves, creating an immense internal contradiction in their divine role.
- "Who is blind as he who is at peace with Me? Or blind as the LORD’s servant?": This extended parallelism drives home the point with rhetorical force. It emphasizes the profound and almost incomprehensible level of blindness attributed to the chosen people, specifically targeting their covenant status and unique relationship with God as the very reason for their paradoxical failure. The cumulative effect is one of profound divine disappointment and frustration.
Isaiah 42 19 Bonus section
The profound indictment of Israel's spiritual blindness and deafness in Isaiah 42:19 is part of a broader polemic in Isaiah against the futility of idolatry. Israel, despite knowing the true God, often mirrored the insensitivity of the mute and sightless idols worshipped by surrounding nations. By choosing not to "see" God's acts or "hear" His commands, Israel rendered themselves spiritually analogous to these inert objects, betraying their purpose as God's vibrant, living witnesses. This verse acts as a pivotal moment, transitioning the Servant figure from the corporate Israel, who repeatedly failed, to an individual, perfect Servant—foreshadowing Jesus Christ—who would flawlessly embody God's mission, thereby healing the spiritual maladies that plagued Israel. This divine disappointment sets the expectation for a greater intervention where true sight and hearing would be restored through God's perfect chosen one.
Isaiah 42 19 Commentary
Isaiah 42:19 serves as a lament and an indictment against Israel, God's chosen servant, for their profound spiritual insensitivity. While the preceding verses introduce a future ideal Servant (likely messianic), this verse vividly contrasts that perfection with Israel's present failure. Despite being entrusted with God's revelation, appointed as His messenger, and placed in a unique covenant relationship ("at peace with Me" or "My perfect one"), Israel exhibits a stubborn inability to see and hear God's truth. This isn't merely a passive deficiency but an active resistance or indifference that mirrors the very idols they were meant to supersede—idols that have eyes but do not see, and ears but do not hear. This spiritual dullness renders them ineffective in their mission to be a light to the nations, underscoring the deep paradox of their election. It sets the stage for the true Servant, the Messiah, who would perfectly fulfill this role by truly seeing, hearing, and understanding God's will, thereby bringing spiritual sight to the blind and opening the ears of the deaf.