Isaiah 6 10

Isaiah 6:10 kjv

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

Isaiah 6:10 nkjv

"Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed."

Isaiah 6:10 niv

Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

Isaiah 6:10 esv

Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

Isaiah 6:10 nlt

Harden the hearts of these people.
Plug their ears and shut their eyes.
That way, they will not see with their eyes,
nor hear with their ears,
nor understand with their hearts
and turn to me for healing."

Isaiah 6 verses

Isaiah 6 10 Meaning

This verse, a direct commission from God to Isaiah, reveals a profound and counter-intuitive aspect of prophetic ministry. It describes a divine mandate for Isaiah to render the hearts of the people dull, their ears heavy, and their eyes shut. The purpose is to prevent them from understanding with their intellect, converting by repentance, and being healed by divine grace. This severe judgment stems from God's foreknowledge of their persistent rejection of His word and their deep-seated spiritual blindness and rebellion.

Isaiah 6 10 Context

This verse is the climactic and sobering conclusion to Isaiah's commissioning vision in chapter 6. The preceding verses describe Isaiah's profound encounter with the holiness of God, his self-professed unworthiness, and his cleansing by a seraph. Following this transformative experience, God reveals the challenging mission ahead: to prophesy to a people who will not listen, understand, or repent. The immediate historical context is the reign of King Uzziah in Judah, a period marked by outward prosperity but inner spiritual decline and a turning away from God's covenant. Isaiah's ministry, thus initiated, is to be one of judgment and a stark proclamation of impending exile, yet also a foreshadowing of a future remnant and restoration.

Isaiah 6 10 Word Analysis

• "make": (Hebrew: עָשָׂה - asah) - signifies to do, act, accomplish, create, fashion. Here it conveys God's active ordination of the spiritual state of the people.

• "heart": (Hebrew: לֵב - lev or לֵבָב - levav) - refers not just to emotion, but the intellect, will, and inner being. It's the core of a person's being, the seat of understanding and decision.

• "this people": (Hebrew: הָעָם־הַזֶּה - ha'am-hazeh) - specifically refers to the people of Israel, emphasizing their chosen but disobedient status.

• "fat": (Hebrew: דָּשֵׁן - dashen) - literally "fertile," "rich," or "oily." Figuratively, it describes a state of prosperity and ease that leads to spiritual dullness, insensitivity, and a lack of concern for spiritual matters.

• "ears": (Hebrew: אֹזְנַיִם - oznayim) - the organ of hearing, representing receptivity to divine instruction.

• "heavy": (Hebrew: כָבֵד - kaved) - means weighty, slow, dull, or unresponsive. Their ears are metaphorically weighed down, unable to perceive or comprehend.

• "eyes": (Hebrew: עַיִן - ayin) - the organ of sight, representing the capacity for discernment and understanding.

• "shut": (Hebrew: עָצֵם - atzem) - to close, seal, or shut tight. It signifies a deliberate refusal to see or comprehend the truth presented.

• "lest": (Hebrew: פֶּן - pen) - indicates purpose or result, showing the divine intention behind this spiritual hardening.

• "they see with their eyes": - highlights the use of physical sight.

• "hear with their ears": - emphasizes the use of physical hearing.

• "understand with their heart": - points to intellectual comprehension and grasp of the spiritual meaning.

• "turn": (Hebrew: שׁוּב - shuv) - to return, repent, revert. It signifies a change of direction, a turning back to God.

• "and heal": (Hebrew: וְרָפָא - v'rapha) - to restore, mend, or make whole. It signifies spiritual recovery and salvation.

• Group of Words: "Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes..." This powerful phrasing depicts a state of divine judicial blindness and deafness. It's not that God makes them inherently evil, but rather, in response to their persistent rejection, He ordains that their present hardened state continues and deepens, preventing any salvific response.

• Group of Words: "...lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I heal them." This entire clause reveals the tragic consequence of their continued apostasy. God's judgment is to remove the opportunity for repentance and healing, a severe measure reflecting their persistent refusal of His grace and truth.

Isaiah 6 10 Bonus Section

This prophecy of spiritual hardening and incomprehension is a recurring theme in scripture. While this verse depicts a judicial hardening, it’s important to note that God does not force people to sin or prevent genuine seekers from finding Him. The hardening here is a response to established patterns of rejection. This concept of hardening serves to underscore the gravity of spiritual rebellion and the often-tragic consequences of refusing divine truth. The New Testament interprets this passage as partly fulfilled in the disbelief of many Israelites towards Jesus Christ, whose message, meant to heal, was rejected by a majority, leading to further spiritual blindness as predicted by Isaiah. The passage highlights the sober reality that receptivity to God is a precious gift that can be lost through persistent resistance.

Isaiah 6 10 Commentary

This verse encapsulates a chilling paradox: a prophet is sent to make a people unable to hear and understand, leading to their continued rebellion. It is God’s foreknowledge of their intractable unbelief, evidenced by generations of disobedience, that leads to this commission. It is a pronouncement of judgment, declaring that their spiritual blindness will continue until the nation reaches a point of no return. This hardening is not arbitrary but a just consequence for their persistent, willful rejection of God’s prophets and His word. The aim of Isaiah’s prophecy, therefore, is not immediate widespread conversion but rather to bear witness to God's truth, even to a hardened nation, setting the stage for future judgment and eventual, albeit limited, restoration for a remnant. The emphasis is on the people's culpability for their condition, a condition that God, in His sovereign justice, ordains to persist due to their unfailing apostasy.