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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.

Context of Isaiah 44:18

16Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.” 17From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, “Save me! You are my god!” They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. 19No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, “Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?” 20Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• They have not knownיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• nor understoodבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995
• for he hath shutטָחַחţûach · to be smearedH2902
• their eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• that they cannot seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• their heartsלִבָּהlibbâh · heartH3826
• that they cannot understandשָׂכַלώâkal · be prudentH7919

Cross-references for Isaiah 44:18

• Isaiah 44:9All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame.
• Isaiah 45:20“Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.
• Isaiah 46:7They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer; it cannot save them from their troubles.
• Jeremiah 10:8They are all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols.
• Romans 1:21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
• Isaiah 6:10Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull 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 29:10The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep: He has sealed your eyes (the prophets); he has covered your heads (the seers).
• Psalms 81:12So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.
• Matthew 13:14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
• Acts 14:16In the past, he let all nations go their own way.
• Romans 1:28Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they 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 in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie,
• Isaiah 56:11They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, they seek their own gain.
• Psalms 92:6Senseless people do not know, fools do 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