God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 42:20
20You have seen much, but you do not observe anything. Your ears are open, but you hear nothing.
Isaiah 42:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.
- New International Version (NIV)You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Seeing many things, but you do not observe; Opening the ears, but he does not hear.”
Context of Isaiah 42:20
18Listen, you deaf people. Look, you blind people, so that you can see. 19Who is blind except my servant or deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one who has my trust or blind like the servant of the Lord? You have seen much, but you do not observe anything. Your ears are open, but you hear nothing. 21The Lord is pleased because he does what is right. He praises the greatness of his teachings and makes them glorious. 22But these people are robbed and looted. They are all trapped in pits and hidden in prisons. They have become prey with no one to rescue them. They have become loot with no one to say, “Give it back.”
Read all of Isaiah 42Isaiah 42:20 word by word
רָא֥וֹת רַבּ֖וֹת וְלֹ֣א תִשְׁמֹ֑ר פָּק֥וֹחַ אָזְנַ֖יִם וְלֹ֥א יִשְׁמָֽע׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 42:20
- Isaiah 1:3Oxen know their owners, and donkeys know where their masters feed them. But Israel doesn’t know ⌞its owner⌟. My people don’t understand ⌞who feeds them⌟.
- Isaiah 48:6You’ve heard these words. Now look at all this. Won’t you admit it? From now on I will reveal to you new things, hidden things that you do not know.
- Numbers 14:22none of the people who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I did in Egypt and in the desert will see the land which I promised their ancestors. They have tested me now ten times and refused to obey me.
- Deuteronomy 4:9However, be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you don’t forget the things which you have seen with your own eyes. Don’t let them fade from your memory as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.
- Deuteronomy 29:2Moses summoned all the people of Israel and said to them: You’ve seen with your own eyes everything that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his whole country.
- Nehemiah 9:10You performed miraculous signs and did amazing things to Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people in his land because you knew how arrogantly they were treating our ancestors. You made a name for yourself, a name which remains to this day.
- Psalms 106:7When our ancestors were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles. They did not remember your numerous acts of mercy, so they rebelled at the sea, the Red Sea.
- Psalms 107:43Let those who ⌞think⌟ they are wise pay attention to these things so that they may understand the Lord’s blessings.
- John 9:37Jesus told him, “You’ve seen him. He is the person who is now talking with you.”
- John 11:37But some of the Jews asked, “Couldn’t this man who gave a blind man sight keep Lazarus from dying?”
- Isaiah 58:2They look for me every day and want to know my ways. They act as if they were a nation that has done what is right and as if they haven’t disregarded God’s judgment ⌞on them⌟. They ask me for just decrees. They want God to be near them.
- Jeremiah 42:2They said to him, “Please listen to our request, and pray to the Lord your God for all of us who are left here. As you can see, there are only a few of us left.
- Ezekiel 33:31Then they come to you, as if they are still my people, and they sit down in front of you. They listen to what you say, but they don’t do it. They say that they love me, but in their hearts they chase dishonest profits.
- Mark 6:19So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she wasn’t allowed to do it
- Acts 28:22However, we would like to hear what you think. We know that everywhere people are talking against this sect.”
Commentaries on Isaiah 42:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Seeing many things "Thou hast seen indeed" - The text has רבית ראית raith rabith, which the Masoretes in the marginal Keri have corrected to רבות ראות reoth rabboth ; as indeed one hundred and seven MSS., and five editions, now have it in the text. This was probably the reading of most of the MSS. of their time; which, though they approved of it, out of some superstition they would not admit into their standard text. But these wretched critics, though…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Seeing many things - That is, the people, the Jews, spoken of here as the servants of God. They had had an opportunity of observing many things pertaining to the law, the government, and the dealing of Yahweh. They had often witnessed his interposition in the days of calamity, and he often rescued them from peril. These things they could not but have observed, much as they had chosen to disregard the lessons which they were calculated to convey. But thou…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. 2020. observest--Thou dost not keep them. The "many things" are the many proofs which all along from the first God had given Israel of His goodness and His power (De 4:32-38; 29:2-4; Psa 78:1-72; 105:1-45). he--transition from the second to the third person. "Opening ... ears," that is, though he (Israel) hath his ears open (see on Is 6:10). This language, too (see on Is 42:19), applies to Messiah as Jehovah's servant (Is 50:5; Psa 40:6).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 42:20
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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