Amplified Bible
Isaiah 6:9
9And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not understand; Keep on looking, but do not comprehend.’
Isaiah 6:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
- New International Version (NIV)He said, “Go and tell this people: “ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
Context of Isaiah 6:9
7He touched my mouth with it and said, “Listen carefully, this has touched your lips; your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing] is taken away and your sin atoned for and forgiven.” 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not understand; Keep on looking, but do not comprehend.’ 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.” 11Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, And houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate,
Read all of Isaiah 6Isaiah 6:9 word by word
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לֵ֥ךְ וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ לָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֑ה שִׁמְע֤וּ שָׁמ֙וֹעַ֙ וְאַל־תָּבִ֔ינוּ וּרְא֥וּ רָא֖וֹ וְאַל־תֵּדָֽעוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 6:9
- Isaiah 29:13Then the Lord said, “Because this nation approaches [Me only] with their words And honors Me [only] with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me is a tradition that is learned by rote [without any regard for its meaning],
- Isaiah 30:8Now, go, write it on a tablet before them And inscribe it on a scroll, So that it may serve in the time to come As a witness [against them] forevermore.
- Exodus 32:7Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.
- Jeremiah 15:1Then the Lord said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me [interceding for them], My heart would still not be [turned with favor] toward this people [Judah]. Send them away from My presence and out of My sight and let them go!
- Hosea 1:9And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-Ammi (not my people), for you are not My people and I am not your God.”
- Isaiah 43:8Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have ears.
- Isaiah 44:18They 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.
- 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;
- Mark 4:12so that they will continually look but not see, and they will continually hear but not understand, otherwise they might turn [from their rejection of the truth] and be forgiven.”
- Luke 8:10And He said, “To you [who have been chosen] it has been granted to know and recognize the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that though seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
- John 12:40“He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, to keep them from seeing with their eyes and understanding with their heart and being converted; otherwise, I [their God] would heal them.”
- Acts 28:26‘Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but will not understand, You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
- 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.”
Commentaries on Isaiah 6:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9And he said - לי li, to me, two MSS. and the Syriac. Thirteen MSS. have ראה raah, in the regular form.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9And he said - The expressions which follow are those which denote hardness of heart and blindness of mind. They would hear the words of the prophet, but they would not understand him. They were so obstinately bent on iniquity that they would neither believe nor regard him. This shows the spirit with which ministers must deliver the message of God. It is their business to deliver the message, though they should know that it will neither be understood nor…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-13Verses 9-13 God sends Isaiah to foretell the ruin of his people. Many hear the sound of God's word, but do not feel the power of it. God sometimes, in righteous judgment, gives men up to blindness of mind, because they will not receive the truth in the love of it. But no humble inquirer after Christ, need to fear this awful doom, which is a spiritual judgment on those who will still hold fast their sins. Let every one pray for the enlightening of the Holy…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9never understanding … never perceiving: The prophet's words revealed the true feelings of his audience. The people were so deep in sin that hearing the truth pushed them further from God instead of closer (for example, Ahaz, Isaiah 7). Yet, the truth needed to be spoken. Jesus also used this principle in his own preaching (Matthew 13:14–15; Luke 8:10; 19:42; John 12:40; see also Acts 28:26–27; Romans 11:8).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Hear ... indeed--Hebrew, "In hearing hear," that is, Though ye hear the prophet's warnings again and again, ye are doomed, because of your perverse will (Joh 7:17), not to understand. Light enough is given in revelation to guide those sincerely seeking to know, in order that they may do, God's will; darkness enough is left to confound the wilfully blind (Is 43:8). So in Jesus' use of parables (Mt 13:14). see ... indeed--rather, "though ye see again and…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 6:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 6
- 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
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