Isaiah 44:18 kjv
They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
Isaiah 44:18 nkjv
They do not know nor understand; For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, And their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
Isaiah 44:18 niv
They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
Isaiah 44:18 esv
They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
Isaiah 44:18 nlt
Such stupidity and ignorance!
Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see.
Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.
Isaiah 44 18 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 115:4-8 | Their idols are silver and gold... they have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see... Those who make them become like them... | Idols are lifeless, worshippers become spiritually dead. |
| Ps 135:15-18 | The idols of the nations are silver and gold... they have mouths, but do not speak... Those who make them will be like them... | Reiterates the spiritual consequence of idolatry. |
| Hab 2:18-19 | What good is an idol... Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ | Mockery of idol worship and its foolishness. |
| Rom 1:21-23 | ...they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools... | Connection between rejecting God and darkened understanding. |
| Deut 29:4 | But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. | God's sovereign hand in spiritual perception, post-rebellion. |
| Jer 5:21 | Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear... | Prophet rebukes the people's lack of perception. |
| Ez 12:2 | Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear... | Rebellious people exhibit spiritual blindness despite witness. |
| Isa 6:9-10 | And he said, “Go, and say to this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand... Make the heart of this people dull...' | God's judicial hardening of people's spiritual faculties. |
| Mk 4:11-12 | ...to those outside everything is in parables, so that ‘seeing they may see but not perceive...' | Jesus' parables causing further hardening for those unwilling to believe. |
| Mt 13:14-15 | Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: 'You will indeed hear but never understand...' | Fulfillment of Isaiah 6:9-10 in rejecting Christ. |
| Jn 12:39-40 | Therefore they could not believe, for again Isaiah said, "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart..." | Direct application of Isaiah's prophecy to unbelief in Christ. |
| Acts 28:26-27 | ...For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear... | Paul quotes Isaiah 6 to explain Jewish unbelief in Rome. |
| Rom 11:8-10 | ...God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see... and a bent back forever. | Divine judgment leading to spiritual insensitivity for a time. |
| 2 Cor 3:14-16 | ...their minds were blinded... to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. | Spiritual blindness persists until one turns to Christ. |
| Eph 4:17-18 | ...walk no longer as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding... | Unregenerate state characterized by darkness and hardness of heart. |
| Ex 4:21 | ...I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. | God's sovereign hardening of Pharaoh's heart. |
| Rom 9:18 | So then he has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. | God's sovereignty over spiritual states and human wills. |
| 2 Thes 2:10-12 | ...because they refused to love the truth... Therefore God sends them a strong delusion... | Those who reject truth are given over to greater deception. |
| Prov 1:24-33 | Because I have called and you refused... I also will laugh at your calamity... | Wisdom's warning to those who reject her counsel, facing consequences. |
| Hosea 4:6 | My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you... | Spiritual destruction due to willful rejection of God's truth. |
| Jn 3:19 | And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light... | The moral choice to prefer darkness over light incurs judgment. |
| Rom 1:28 | And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind... | Divine 'giving over' as a consequence of rejecting God. |
Isaiah 44 verses
Isaiah 44 18 Meaning
Isaiah 44:18 vividly describes the spiritual state of idolaters, asserting that they lack true knowledge and understanding because God has judicially blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts. Their inability to discern the truth about the true God versus the futility of idols is presented not as a mere deficiency, but as a consequence of divine action, a spiritual judgment preventing them from seeing spiritual realities and comprehending divine truth.
Isaiah 44 18 Context
Isaiah chapter 44 is a powerful discourse by the prophet, contrasting the living God of Israel with the lifeless, man-made idols worshipped by surrounding nations and, lamentably, by some in Israel. The chapter affirms God's unique identity as Creator and Redeemer, the First and the Last, and His knowledge of the future, all to demonstrate the futility and folly of idolatry. Verses 9-20 particularly focus on the absurdity of the idol-making process: a person uses wood from a tree, burns part for warmth or cooking, and carves the other part into an object of worship. Verse 18 directly explains why individuals persist in such clear delusion, linking their spiritual ignorance and inability to God's judicial hardening as a consequence of their sin. This forms part of a polemic against the contemporary beliefs of the pagan cultures who invested power and divinity into carved images, as well as a warning to Israel against syncretism.
Isaiah 44 18 Word analysis
- They know not: (לֹא יָדְעוּ - Lo' yeda'u) This phrase denotes a deep-seated spiritual and intellectual ignorance. It indicates an active state of not knowing or not having a direct acquaintance with divine truth. It's more than a mere lack of information; it signifies an unperceiving condition.
- nor understand: (וְלֹא יָבִינוּ - welo' yavinu) This complements "know not," highlighting a failure in discerning, comprehending, or having insight. While "know not" implies lack of awareness, "understand" (bin) relates to processing that information for intelligent insight, ethical implications, and discerning consequences.
- for he has shut their eyes: (כִּי טַח אֶת־עֵינֵיהֶם - ki TaH 'eT-'eNeyHem)
- "for" (כִּי - ki): Introduces the reason or explanation for their ignorance.
- "he has shut" (טַח - TaH): This is a key verb. It means "to smear," "to overlay," or "to plaster over." Here, it signifies a decisive act of covering or blinding. The agent "he" refers to God, indicating a direct, sovereign action of judicial hardening. This is not self-imposed blindness, but a divine intervention.
- "their eyes" (עֵינֵיהֶם - 'eNeyHem): Refers to the physical organs of sight, but here symbolically means the faculty of spiritual perception and insight.
- so that they cannot see: (מֵרְאוֹת - mi-r'ot)
- "so that" (מֵ - me'i): From, indicating prevention.
- "see" (רְאוֹת - r'ot): The act of seeing or perceiving. Combined with the preposition, it means 'from seeing,' implying an inability to see.
- and their hearts: (וְלִבָּם - we-libbaM) The "heart" in biblical Hebrew thought is the center of the person, encompassing intellect, will, emotions, and moral consciousness. It is the seat of rational thought, decision-making, and spiritual intuition.
- so that they cannot understand: (מֵהַשְׂכִּיל - mi-ha-sakil)
- "so that" (מֵ - me'i): Again, indicates prevention 'from' acting.
- "understand" (הַשְׂכִּיל - ha-sakil): To be wise, to discern, to gain insight, to have prudence or comprehension. It refers to inner, deeper processing of truth.
Words-group analysis:
- "They know not, nor understand": This initial pair underscores a complete spiritual inability to grasp basic truths about God and idols. It suggests not merely an informational gap, but a profound defect in cognitive and moral perception concerning the divine.
- "for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand": This crucial phrase reveals the divine agency behind the idolater's delusion. God is portrayed as actively intervening to "smear" or "cover over" their spiritual sight (eyes) and inner discernment (hearts). This action, "so that they cannot see/understand," highlights a divinely imposed spiritual incapacitation. It means their lack of perception is not accidental but a judicial consequence of their choice to turn from Him.
Isaiah 44 18 Bonus section
This concept of God hardening hearts or blinding eyes is a recurring theme in Scripture, illustrating God's sovereignty over humanity's spiritual state, particularly as a response to willful sin and rejection. It highlights that true spiritual understanding is not purely intellectual effort but requires divine grace and openness. The hardening is never arbitrary but is consistently presented as a judicial response to sustained human stubbornness and unfaithfulness. The passage serves as a severe warning: persistent sin leads to spiritual incapacitation, where divine revelation no longer penetrates, culminating in judgment rather than illumination.
Isaiah 44 18 Commentary
Isaiah 44:18 provides a profound theological explanation for the persistent foolishness of idol worship, arguing it is more than human ignorance. The verse attributes this spiritual blindness and intellectual obtuseness directly to God's judicial act: He has "shut" their eyes and "hardened" their hearts. This divine action is a consequence of persistent rebellion and willful turning from the true God to inanimate objects. It's not that God desires to keep people in darkness, but rather, in His justice, He allows those who reject Him and His truth to fall into deeper spiritual delusion, confirming their choices. This hardening results in a comprehensive inability to perceive divine truth or discern spiritual realities, impacting both external observation ("eyes") and internal processing ("hearts"). This judgment leaves them unable to see the utter absurdity of worshipping a hand-made image, which ultimately exposes the sovereign power of God even over human spiritual states and demonstrates the grave spiritual perils of apostasy.