Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 29:11
11For you the entire vision will be like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to one who can read and he is asked to read it, he will say, “I can’t read it, because it is sealed.”
Isaiah 29:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
- New International Version (NIV)For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed."
- New King James Version (NKJV)The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”
Context of Isaiah 29:11
9Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with beer. 10For the Lord has poured out on you an overwhelming urge to sleep; he has shut your eyes (the prophets) and covered your heads (the seers). For you the entire vision will be like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to one who can read and he is asked to read it, he will say, “I can’t read it, because it is sealed.” 12And if the document is given to one who cannot read and he is asked to read it, he will say, “I can’t read.” 13The Lord said: These people approach me with their speeches to honor me with lip-service, yet their hearts are far from me, and human rules direct their worship of me.
Read all of Isaiah 29Isaiah 29:11 word by word
וַתְּהִ֨י לָכֶ֜ם חָז֣וּת הַכֹּ֗ל כְּדִבְרֵי֮ הַסֵּ֣פֶר הֶֽחָתוּם֒ אֲשֶֽׁר־יִתְּנ֣וּ אֹת֗וֹ אֶל־יוֹדֵ֥עַ סֵ֛פֶר לֵאמֹ֖ר קְרָ֣א נָא־זֶ֑ה וְאָמַר֙ לֹ֣א אוּכַ֔ל כִּ֥י חָת֖וּם הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the visionחָזוּתchâzûth · visionH2380
- of all is become unto you as the wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- of a bookסֵ֫פֶרsêpher siphrâh · scroll: documentH5612
- that is sealedחָתַםchâtham · to sealH2856
- deliverנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- to one that is learnedיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Readקָרָאqârâ' · to call: read outH7121
- I cannotיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
Cross-references for Isaiah 29:11
- Isaiah 8:16Bind up the testimony. Seal up the instruction among my disciples.
- Daniel 12:4“But you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.”
- Matthew 11:25At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants.
- Matthew 13:11He answered, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them.
- Matthew 16:17Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven.
- Revelation 5:1Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides, sealed with seven seals.
- Revelation 6:1Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!”
Commentaries on Isaiah 29:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11I cannot; for it is sealed "I cannot read it; for it is sealed up" - An ancient MS. and the Septuagint have preserved a word here, lost out of the text; לקרות likroth, (for לקראות ), , read it.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11And the vision of all - The vision of all the prophets; that is, all the revelations which God has made to you (see the note at Isaiah 1:1). The prophet refers not only to his own communications, but to those of his contemporaries, and of all who had gone before him. The sense is, that although they had the communications which God had made to them, yet they did not understand them. They were as ignorant of their true nature as a man who can read is of…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-16Verses 9-16 The security of sinners in sinful ways, is cause for lamentation and wonder. The learned men, through prejudice, said that the Divine prophecies were obscure; and the poor urged their want of learning. The Bible is a sealed book to every man, learned or unlearned, till he begins to study it with a simple heart and a teachable spirit, that he may thence learn the truth and the will of God. To worship God, is to approach him. And if the heart be…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-12Jerusalem’s blindness kept its people from understanding God’s plan. Here, blindness does not mean physical blindness. It means spiritual blindness. The people could see with their eyes, but they did not understand what God was doing.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. of all--rather, "the whole vision." "Vision" is the same here as "revelation," or "law"; in Is 28:15, the same Hebrew word is translated, "covenant" [Maurer]. sealed--(Is 8:16), God seals up the truth so that even the learned, because they lack believing docility, cannot discern it (Mt 13:10-17; 11:25). Prophecy remained comparatively a sealed volume (Da 12:4, 9), until Jesus, who "alone is worthy," "opened the seals" (Re 5:1-5, 9; 6:1).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 29:11
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 29
- 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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