Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 42:18
18“Listen, you deaf! Look, you blind, so that you may see.
Isaiah 42:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
- New International Version (NIV)“Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!
- English Standard Version (ESV)Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see!
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Hear, you deaf; And look, you blind, that you may see.
Context of Isaiah 42:18
16I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness to light in front of them and rough places into level ground. This is what I will do for them, and I will not abandon them. 17They will be turned back and utterly ashamed — those who trust in an idol and say to a cast image, ‘You are our gods! ’ “Listen, you deaf! Look, you blind, so that you may see. 19Who is blind but my servant, or deaf like my messenger I am sending? Who is blind like my dedicated one, or blind like the servant of the Lord? 20Though seeing many things, you pay no attention. Though his ears are open, he does not listen.”
Read all of Isaiah 42Isaiah 42:18 word by word
הַחֵרְשִׁ֖ים שְׁמָ֑עוּ וְהַעִוְרִ֖ים הַבִּ֥יטוּ לִרְאֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 42:18
- 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 43:8Bring out a people who are blind, yet have eyes, and are deaf, yet have ears.
- Exodus 4:11The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
- Proverbs 20:12The hearing ear and the seeing eye — the Lord made them both.
- Mark 7:34Looking up to heaven, he sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”).
- Luke 7:22He replied to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news,
- Revelation 3:17For you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.
Commentaries on Isaiah 42:18
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Hear, ye deaf - This is evidently an address to the Jews, and probably to the Jews of the time of the prophet. He had been predicting the coming of the Messiah, and the influence of his religion on the Gentile world. He had said that God would go forth to destroy the idolatry of the pagan nations, and to convince them of the folly of the worship of images, and to confound them for putting their trust in them. He seems here to have recollected that this…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-25Verses 18-25 Observe the call given to this people, and the character given of them. Multitudes are ruined for want of observing that which they cannot but see; they perish, not through ignorance, but carelessness. The Lord is well-pleased in the making known his own righteousness. For their sins they were spoiled of all their possessions. This fully came to pass in the destruction of the Jewish nation. There is no resisting, nor escaping God's anger. See…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-20The Israelites who ignored God's words and actions became spiritually blind and deaf (see Isaiah 6:9–10). They knew the truth from God's word and the prophets, but their closed minds refused to respond.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. deaf--namely, to the voice of God. blind--to your duty and interest; wilfully so (Is 42:20). In this they differ from "the blind" (Is 42:16). The Jews are referred to. He had said, God would destroy the heathen idolatry; here he remembers that even Israel, His "servant" (Is 42:19), from whom better things might have been expected, is tainted with this sin.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 42:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 42
- 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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