New King James Version
Isaiah 42:19
19Who is blind but My servant, Or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, And blind as the Lord’s servant?
Isaiah 42:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant?
- New International Version (NIV)Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like the servant of the Lord?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the Lord?
- New Living Translation (NLT)Who is as blind as my own people, my servant? Who is as deaf as my messenger? Who is as blind as my chosen people, the servant of the Lord?
Context of Isaiah 42:19
17They shall be turned back, They shall be greatly ashamed, Who trust in carved images, Who say to the molded images, ‘You are our gods.’ 18“Hear, you deaf; And look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind but My servant, Or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, And blind as the Lord’s servant? 20Seeing many things, but you do not observe; Opening the ears, but he does not hear.” 21The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable.
Read all of Isaiah 42Isaiah 42:19 word by word
מִ֤י עִוֵּר֙ כִּ֣י אִם־עַבְדִּ֔י וְחֵרֵ֖שׁ כְּמַלְאָכִ֣י אֶשְׁלָ֑ח מִ֤י עִוֵּר֙ כִּמְשֻׁלָּ֔ם וְעִוֵּ֖ר כְּעֶ֥בֶד יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 42:19
- Isaiah 6:9And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
- Isaiah 29:9Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
- Isaiah 56:10His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
- Jeremiah 4:22“For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge.”
- Jeremiah 5:21‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not:
- Ezekiel 12:2“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house.
- Matthew 13:14And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive;
- Matthew 15:14Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
- Matthew 23:16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’
- Mark 8:17But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?
- John 7:47Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived?
- John 9:39And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”
- John 12:40“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”
- Romans 2:17Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God,
- Romans 11:7What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
- 2 Corinthians 3:14But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.
Commentaries on Isaiah 42:19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19As my messenger that I sent "As he to whom I have sent my messengers" - אשלח כמלכי kemalachey eshlach, ut ad quem nuncios meos misi. The Vulgate and Chaldee are almost the only interpreters who render it rightly, in consistence with the rest of the sentence, and in perfect agreement with the Hebrew idiom; according to which the ellipsis is to be thus supplied: אשלח מלאכי כלאשר kelaasher malachey eshlach ; "As he to whom I have sent my messengers." As he…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19Who is blind, but my servant? - Some of the Jewish expositors suppose that by servant‘ here, the prophet himself is intended, who, they suppose is here called blind and deaf by the impious Jews who rejected his message. But it is evident, that by servant‘ here, the Jewish people themselves are intended, the singular being used for the plural, in a sense similar to that where they are so often called Jacob‘ and Israel.‘ The phrase servants of God‘ is often…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. 1919. my servant--namely, Israel. Who of the heathen is so blind? Considering Israel's high privileges, the heathen's blindness was as nothing compared with that of Israelite idolaters. my messenger ... sent--Israel was designed by God to be the herald of His truth to other nations. perfect--furnished with institutions, civil and religious, suited to their perfect well-being. Compare the title, "Jeshurun," the perfect one, applied to Israel (compare Is…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 42:19
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries