Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 29:12
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.”
Isaiah 29:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
- New International Version (NIV)Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I am not literate.”
Context of Isaiah 29:12
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). 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.” And 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. 14Therefore, I will again confound these people with wonder after wonder. The wisdom of their wise will vanish, and the perception of their perceptive will be hidden.
Read all of Isaiah 29Isaiah 29:12 word by word
וְנִתַּ֣ן הַסֵּ֗פֶר עַל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹֽא־יָדַ֥ע סֵ֛פֶר לֵאמֹ֖ר קְרָ֣א נָא־זֶ֑ה וְאָמַ֕ר לֹ֥א יָדַ֖עְתִּי סֵֽפֶר׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 29:12
- Isaiah 29:18On that day the deaf will hear the words of a document, and out of a deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
- Isaiah 28:12He had said to them, “This is the place of rest; let the weary rest; this is the place of repose.” But they would not listen.
- Jeremiah 5:4Then I thought: They are just the poor; they have been foolish. For they don’t understand the way of the Lord, the justice of their God.
- Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as my priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons.
- John 7:15Then the Jews were amazed and said, “How is this man so learned, since he hasn’t been trained?”
Commentaries on Isaiah 29:12
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12And the book is delivered - That is, they are just as ignorant of the true nature and meaning of the revelations of God as a man is of the contents of a book who is utterly unable to read.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. 1212. The unlearned succeed no better than the learned, not from want of human learning, as they fancy, but from not having the teaching of God (Is 54:13; Jr 31:34; Joh 6:45; 1Co 2:7-10; 1Jo 2:20).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 29:12
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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