Isaiah 32:3
in Isaiah 32Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
KJV
And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
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This verse in Isaiah 32
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And the eyes of them that see ... - The sense of this verse is, that there shall be, under the reign of this wise and pious prince, on the part of the prophets and teachers, a clear view of divine truth, and on the part of the people who hear, a disposition to hearken and to attend to it.
This site's exposition
the eyes of those who see
on Isaiah 32:3-4
Under this reign "the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed". The older commentators set this beside Isaiah 6:9 and 10, now turned back. Albert Barnes traced the same words into the later chapters, where blindness and deafness are undone as marks of the coming kingdom.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 32, Verses 1 onwards) Behold, the king shall reign with justice, and princes shall rule with judgment. And a man shall be like one who hides from the wind, and conceals himself from the storm: like streams of water in a dry place, and the shadow of a towering rock in a barren land. The eyes of those who see shall not be dim, and the ears of those who hear shall listen carefully. And the heart of fools shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of stammerers shall speak quickly and clearly.
The Medieval Church1 voice
As to amendment in spiritual matters: the eyes of them that see, namely, the prophets, shall not be dim, as before, because of the sins of the king and the people, but shall receive clear visions from the Lord; and the ears, namely, of their …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This shall be done by the grace of God, especially gospel-grace; for the hearing ear, and the seeing eyes, the Lord has made, has new-made, even both of them. There shall be a wonderful change wrought in them by that which is taught them,
And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim,....
A prophecy of the great disturbance that would be given to the kingdom in the middle of his reign by the Assyrian invasion,
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim “And him the eyes of those that see shall regard” - For ולא velo, and not, Le Clerc reads ולו velo, and to him, of which mistake the Masoretes acknowledge there are fifteen instances; and many more are reckoned by others. The removal of the negative restores to the verb its true and usual sense.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשְׁעֶ֖ינָה | tisheinah | they will gaze | H8159 → | 15 times |
| עֵינֵ֣י | ʾeinei | [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| רֹאִ֑ים | roim | [those who] see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְאָזְנֵ֥י | veazenei | and [the] ears of | H241 → | 187 times |
| שֹׁמְעִ֖ים | shomeim | [those who] hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| תִּקְשַֽׁבְנָה׃ | tikshavnah | they will pay attention | H7181 → | 46 times |
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשְׁעֶ֖ינָהthey will gaze
tisheinahH8159 →15 times
עֵינֵ֣י[the] eyes of
ʾeineiH5869 →887 times
רֹאִ֑ים[those who] see
roimH7200 →1300 times
וְאָזְנֵ֥יand [the] ears of
veazeneiH241 →187 times
שֹׁמְעִ֖ים[those who] hear
shomeimH8085 →1159 times
תִּקְשַֽׁבְנָה׃they will pay attention
tikshavnahH7181 →46 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 26:18to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ephesians 1:18
I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
- Acts 20:32
And now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified.
- Isaiah 42:7
to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
- 1 Peter 2:9
Through
2 Corinthians 4:6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of…
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 60:2
For behold, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you, and His glory will appear over you.
- Genesis 1:3
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
- 2 Peter 1:19
We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day…
- Ephesians 5:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.
