New Living Translation
Isaiah 42:20
20You see and recognize what is right but refuse to act on it. You hear with your ears, but you don’t really listen.”
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
18“Listen, you who are deaf! Look and see, you blind! 19Who 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? You see and recognize what is right but refuse to act on it. You hear with your ears, but you don’t really listen.” 21Because he is righteous, the Lord has exalted his glorious law. 22But his own people have been robbed and plundered, enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped. They are fair game for anyone and have no one to protect them, no one to take them back home.
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 1:3Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care— but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.”
- Isaiah 48:6You have heard my predictions and seen them fulfilled, but you refuse to admit it. Now I will tell you new things, secrets you have not yet heard.
- Numbers 14:22not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice.
- Deuteronomy 4:9“But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.
- Deuteronomy 29:2Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the Lord did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to his whole country—
- Nehemiah 9:10You displayed miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, his officials, and all his people, for you knew how arrogantly they were treating our ancestors. You have a glorious reputation that has never been forgotten.
- Psalms 106:7Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the Lord’s miraculous deeds. They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them. Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.
- Psalms 107:43Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.
- John 9:37“You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
- John 11:37But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
- Isaiah 58:2Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me.
- Jeremiah 42:2Jeremiah the prophet. They said, “Please pray to the Lord your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before.
- Ezekiel 33:31So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money.
- Mark 6:19So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless,
- Acts 28:22But we want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about this movement is that it is denounced everywhere.”
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
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