Isaiah 44:18

Isaiah 44:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
• New International Version (NIV)They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
• English Standard Version (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.
• New King James Version (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.

Context of Isaiah 44:18

16He burns half of the wood in the fire; over this half he [cooks and] eats meat, he roasts meat and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17But from what is left of the wood he makes a god, his carved idol. He falls down before it, he worships it and prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.” They do not know, nor do they understand, for God has muddied their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts (minds) as well so that they cannot understand. 19No one remembers, nor has knowledge and understanding [enough] to say [to himself], “I have burned half of this log in the fire, and also baked bread on its coals and have roasted meat and eaten it. Then I make the rest of it into an repulsive thing [to God]; I bow down [to worship] before a block of wood!” 20That kind of man (the idolater) feeds on ashes [and is satisfied with ashes]! A deceived mind has led him astray, so that he cannot save himself, or ask, “Is this thing [that I am holding] in my right hand not a lie?”

Isaiah 44:18 word by word

לֹ֥א יָדְע֖וּ וְלֹ֣א יָבִ֑ינוּ כִּ֣י טַ֤ח מֵֽרְאוֹת֙ עֵֽינֵיהֶ֔ם מֵהַשְׂכִּ֖יל לִבֹּתָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They have not knownיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• nor understoodבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995
• for he hath shutטָחַחţûach · to be smearedH2902
• their eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• that they cannot seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• their heartsלִבָּהlibbâh · heartH3826
• that they cannot understandשָׂכַלώâkal · be prudentH7919

Cross-references for Isaiah 44:18

• Isaiah 44:9All who make carved idols are nothing. Their precious objects are worthless [to them], and their own witnesses (worshipers) fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame.
• Isaiah 45:20“Assemble yourselves and come; Come together, you survivors of the nations! They are ignorant, Who carry around their wooden idols [in religious processions or into battle] And keep on praying to a god that cannot save them.
• Isaiah 46:7They lift it on their shoulders [in religious processions or into battle] and carry it; They set it in its place and there it remains standing. It cannot move from its place. Even if one cries to it [for help], the idol cannot answer; It cannot save him from his distress.
• Jeremiah 10:8But they are altogether irrational and stupid and foolish In their discipline of delusion—their idol is [only] wood [it is ridiculous, empty and worthless]!
• Romans 1:21For even though they knew God [as the Creator], they did not honor Him as God or give thanks [for His wondrous creation]. On the contrary, they became worthless in their thinking [godless, with pointless reasonings, and silly speculations], and their foolish heart was darkened.
• Isaiah 6:10Make the heart of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”
• Isaiah 29:10For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep. He has closed your eyes, [you who are] the prophets; And He has covered your heads, [you who are] the seers.
• Psalms 81:12So I gave them up to the stubbornness of their heart, To walk in [the path of] their own counsel.
• Matthew 13:14In them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will hear and keep on hearing, but never understand; And you will look and keep on looking, but never comprehend;
• Acts 14:16In generations past He permitted all the nations to go their own ways;
• Romans 1:28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing [as their Creator], God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive,
• Romans 11:8just as it is written [in Scripture], “God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, [a spiritual apathy that has continued] to this very day.”
• 2 Corinthians 4:3But even if our gospel is [in some sense] hidden [behind a veil], it is hidden [only] to those who are perishing;
• 2 Thessalonians 2:9The coming of the [Antichrist, the lawless] one is through the activity of Satan, [attended] with great power [all kinds of counterfeit miracles] and [deceptive] signs and false wonders [all of them lies],
• Isaiah 56:11And the dogs are greedy; they never have enough. They are shepherds who have no understanding; They have all turned to their own way, Each one to his unlawful gain, without exception.
• Psalms 92:6A senseless man [in his crude and uncultivated state] knows nothing, Nor does a [self-righteous] fool understand this:

Commentaries on Isaiah 44:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18He hath shut their eyes "Their eyes are closed up" - The Septuagint, Chaldee, and Vulyate, for טח tach, read טחו tachu . See note on Isaiah 6:10.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18They have not known nor understood - They are stupid, ignorant, and blind. Nothing could more strikingly show their ignorance and stupidity than this idol worship. He hath shut their eyes - God hath closed their eyes. Margin, Daubed.‘ The word used here, טה ṭah from טוה ṭûah denotes properly “to spread over”; to besmear; to plaster; as, e. g., a wall with mortar Leviticus 14:42; 1 Chronicles 29:4; Ezekiel 13:10; Ezekiel 22:28. Here it means to cover…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-20Verses 9-20 Image-making is described, to expose the folly of idolaters. Though a man had used part of a log for fuel, he fell down before an image made of the remainder, praying it to deliver him. Man greatly dishonours God, when he represents him after the image of man. Satan blinds the eyes of unbelievers, causing absurd reasonings in matters of religion. Whether men seek happiness in worldly things, or run into unbelief, superstition, or any false…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-19closed their minds: Idol worshipers do not see the irony in using one part of a log for warmth and another part as their god.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. he, &c.--God hath given them over to judicial blindness; not His direct physical, but His providential agency in administering His moral government, is meant (Is 6:9, 10). "Shut," literally, "daubed," plastered up; it is an Eastern custom in some cases to seal up the eyes of offenders.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 44:18

• Blindness
• Idol
• Idolatry

In the dictionaries

• Consider
• Fit
• Idol
• Memphis
• Pleasure
• Surname
• God
• Idolatry
• Isaiah
• Jeremy, the Epistle of

Commentaries on Isaiah 44

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings