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 it in the fire, and he roasts meat on that half. He eats the roast and is satisfied. Indeed, he warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.” 17From the rest he makes a god, his graven image. He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.” They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand. 19And no one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, and I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?” 20He feeds on ashes. His deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

Isaiah 44:18 word by word

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

• They do notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• comprehendיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• discernבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995
• forכִּיkîy · forH3588
• He has shutטָחַחţûach · to be smearedH2902
• their eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• so they cannot seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• and closed their mindsלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• so they cannot understandשָׂכַלώâkal · be prudentH7919

Cross-references for Isaiah 44:18

• Isaiah 44:9All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
• Isaiah 45:20Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
• Isaiah 46:7They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.
• Jeremiah 10:8But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
• Romans 1:21For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
• Isaiah 6:10Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears 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 29:10For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, O prophets; He has covered your heads, O seers.
• Psalms 81:12So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.
• Matthew 13:14In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
• Acts 14:16In past generations, He let all nations go their own way.
• Romans 1:28Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
• Romans 11:8as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”
• 2 Corinthians 4:3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:9The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
• Isaiah 56:11Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
• Psalms 92:6A senseless man does not know, and a fool does not understand,

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