Isaiah 42:20 kjv
Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.
Isaiah 42:20 nkjv
Seeing many things, but you do not observe; Opening the ears, but he does not hear."
Isaiah 42:20 niv
You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen."
Isaiah 42:20 esv
He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear.
Isaiah 42:20 nlt
You see and recognize what is right
but refuse to act on it.
You hear with your ears,
but you don't really listen."
Isaiah 42 20 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 6:9-10 | "Go, say to this people: ..." | Understanding spiritual dullness |
| Jer 5:21 | "Hear this, O foolish and senseless people..." | Similar prophetic indictment |
| Ezek 12:2 | "Son of man, you are living among a rebellious house..." | God's assessment of His people's resistance |
| Matt 13:14-15 | "Indeed I will speak to you in parables..." | Fulfillment in Jesus' ministry, prophecy cited |
| Acts 28:26-27 | "The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah..." | Application to Jewish unbelief in the apostles' time |
| John 12:40 | "For he has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts..." | Christ quoting Isaiah regarding hardened hearts |
| Ps 69:23 | "May their table become a snare before them..." | Imprecation on adversaries, echoes of divine judgment |
| Isa 6:9 | "Go, say to this people:..." | Preceding verse context |
| Isa 6:10 | "For this people’s heart has become dull,..." | Specific description of their state |
| Isa 43:8 | "Bring forth the blind people who have eyes..." | Earlier prophecy of God's dealings with His people |
| Jer 2:26-27 | "As the thief is put to shame when he is discovered..." | Israel's spiritual shame and perversion |
| Hosea 4:6 | "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." | Cause of Israel's downfall |
| Mal 2:8 | "But you have yourselves turned aside from the way..." | Priestly failure and corruption |
| Deut 29:4 | "But the Lord has not given you a heart to know..." | Divine withholding of understanding |
| Job 21:14 | "Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us!’..." | Resistance to God's presence and commands |
| Ps 50:17 | "But you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you." | Rejection of God's word and correction |
| Prov 1:29 | "Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord..." | Consequences of rejecting wisdom |
| John 3:19 | "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world..." | Light revealed, but people loved darkness |
| Rom 1:28 | "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God..." | Consequences of not glorifying God |
| 1 Cor 2:14 | "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God..." | Natural man's inability to grasp spiritual truth |
| 2 Thess 2:10-12 | "...because they refused to love the truth..." | Punishment of loving falsehood |
Isaiah 42 verses
Isaiah 42 20 Meaning
This verse speaks to Israel's persistent spiritual blindness and deafness despite having seen and heard the divine witness. It highlights their inherent rebellion and inability to correct their course.
Isaiah 42 20 Context
This verse is situated within the larger prophetic ministry of Isaiah, specifically in chapters 40-55, which are often called "Second Isaiah." This section offers comfort and hope to the exiled Israelites, proclaiming God's sovereign power and future restoration. Chapter 42 focuses on the portrait of God's Servant, who will bring justice to the nations. Verse 20 appears after God has presented His case for why Israel has not benefited from His covenant dealings. It describes their profound spiritual impairment, setting the stage for further pronouncements about judgment and eventual redemption through the Servant. The immediate context shows God addressing the failures of His chosen people, emphasizing their passive resistance to His truth and commands.
Isaiah 42 20 Word Analysis
"But": Introduces a contrast, highlighting the paradox of Israel's condition.
"Israel": Refers to the covenant people, often used to denote their collective identity and relationship with God.
"is": Indicates a present state or condition.
"blind": Signifies an inability to see or perceive truth; spiritually unresponsive to God's revelation.
"that": Connective, introducing the reason or characteristic of their blindness.
"they": Refers to the people of Israel.
"may": Indicates a possibility or purpose, here sadly, the result of their inherent disposition.
"see": To perceive, understand, or recognize spiritual reality.
"and": Connects "see" and "hear."
"ears": Organ of hearing, representing the capacity to receive and comprehend sound; metaphorically, spiritual receptivity.
"which": Introduces a relative clause describing their ears.
"open": Indicates that their hearing capacity is not physically impaired but deliberately closed or unresponsive.
"none": Emphasizes the complete absence of spiritual responsiveness.
"so": Conjunction showing result.
"blind": Again, the lack of spiritual perception.
"are": Present tense of "to be."
"they": Refers back to Israel.
"and": Connects "blind" and "deaf."
"deaf": An inability to hear or comprehend, specifically God's word and will.
Group analysis:
- "blind... that they may see": This is ironic; their blindness is so profound that their very capacity for sight is rendered useless, as if designed not to see. It implies a divinely permitted or imposed inability due to their rebellion.
- "ears which are open": This presents a contradiction. While physically their ears might be functional ("open"), they are spiritually deaf. The opening refers to the fact that the means to hear have been provided (God speaking, prophets declaring), but the internal reception is blocked.
- "none so blind as they... and deaf are they": This is an intensified statement. It asserts that there is no blindness worse than theirs, and furthermore, they are characterized by deafness too. This double impairment signifies a total spiritual recalcitrance.
Isaiah 42 20 Bonus Section
This verse's pronouncement echoes the divine frustration expressed earlier in Isaiah 6:9-10, where God tells Isaiah that the people's hearts have become dull, their ears heavy, and their eyes shut, lest they understand, turn, and be healed. The New Testament, particularly Acts 28:26-27, explicitly connects this passage in Isaiah to the persistent unbelief of the Jews towards the Gospel message in the time of the apostles. Jesus Himself quoted from Isaiah (John 12:40) to explain why many rejected His ministry, indicating that this state of spiritual blindness and deafness was a prophetic fulfillment. This highlights that the issue was not merely intellectual or physical inability, but a moral and spiritual resistance to God's truth. The inability to "see" and "hear" in this context refers to a lack of understanding and receptivity to spiritual realities, a theme pervasive throughout Scripture.
Isaiah 42 20 Commentary
This verse is a somber indictment of Israel's persistent spiritual state. Despite having experienced God's power, witnessed His interventions, and heard His words through prophets, they remain deliberately unresponsive. God's revelation, intended to bring sight and hearing, is rendered ineffective by their hardened hearts and willful disobedience. The phrase "blind... that they may see" is particularly striking, suggesting a condition so entrenched that the very possibility of seeing is negated by their recalcitrance. They are spiritually oblivious, having closed their inner senses to God's truth and guidance. This state of profound deafness and blindness underscores their deep-seated rebellion and their inability to correct their course, setting the stage for the need for a divine intervention, the work of the Servant. This spiritual condition is a recurring theme, reflecting the consequences of choosing darkness over light.