Isaiah 35:5
in Isaiah 35Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
KJV
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
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This verse in Isaiah 35
Commentary
10 notes on this verse"God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself," and the Creator himself was wearing the creature which was to be restored to the image of its Creator. And after the divinely miraculous works had been performed, the performance of which the spirit of prophecy had once predicted, "then shall the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf shall hear; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb shall speak plainly."
This site's exposition
the eyes of the blind will be opened
on Isaiah 35:5-6
The signs of the new age come as a list, the eyes of the blind opened, and the lame will leap like a deer. When John sends to ask: Are You the One who was to come, Jesus answers at Matthew 11:5, The blind receive sight, the lame walk.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Although these blind men had no bodily eyes, they had the vision of faith and heart with which they were able to see the true and eternal Light, the Son of God, about whom it is written: "He was the true light which illumines everyone, …
And Isaiah went on to tell of other marvels and showed how Christ cured the lame, how he made the blind to see, and the mute to speak: "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, then will the ears of the deaf hear." And thereafter he spoke of the other marvels: "Then will the lame man leap like a stag, and the tongue of those with impediments of speech will be clear and distinct." And this did not happen until his coming.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And in healing their infirmities, then shall the eyes of the blind be opened. And these are metaphorical expressions, if they are referred to the time after the destruction of the Assyrians, so that they are understood as spiritual ills, as above; or they can …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
These miracles Christ wrought to prove that he was sent of God ( John iii. 2 ), nay, working them by his own power and in his own name, he proved that he was God, the same who at first made man's mouth, the hearing ear, and the seeing eye. When he would prove to John's disciples his divine mission he did it by miracles of this kind, in which this scripture was fulfilled.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2625: “The Dumb Singing” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
WHAT a difference Divine Grace makes, wherever it enters the heart! In our text we find the blind mentioned, but they are no longer blind when once Grace has touched their eyes! "Then the eyes of the blind" are "opened." We read also of the deaf, but they are not deaf after Grace has operated upon them! "The ears of the deaf are "unstopped." Here are men who have been "lame," but when once the Omnipotent influence of Divine Grace has come upon them, they leap like a hart! And those who used to be speechless, so far from being dumb any longer, have experienced a change that must be radical, for its effects are surprising. "The tongue of the dumb" not only speaks, but it sings! Divine Grace makes a great difference in a man when it enters into him. How vain, then, are the boasts and professions of some persons who declare themselves to be the children of God and yet continue to live in sin! There is no perceivable difference in their conduct from what it formerly was—they are still what they used to be before their pretended conversion—they are not changed in their acts, even in the least degree. And yet they most positively affirm that they are the called and living children of God, although they are entirely unchanged! Let such people know that their pretensions are lies and that falsehood is the only groundwork they have for their hopes, for wherever the Grace of God comes, it makes men to differ from what they were before.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2625: “The Dumb Singing” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
WHAT a difference Divine Grace makes, wherever it enters the heart! In our text we find the blind mentioned, but they are no longer blind when once Grace has touched their eyes! "Then the eyes of the blind" are "opened." We read also of the deaf, but they are not deaf after Grace has operated upon them! "The ears of the deaf are "unstopped." Here are men who have been "lame," but when once the Omnipotent influence of Divine Grace has come upon them, they leap like a hart!
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened - The images in this verse and the following are those of joy and exultation. They describe the times of happiness when God would come to save them from their foes. This passage is so accurate a description of what the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, did, that it doubtless refers to the miracles which he would perform.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
to the hasty of heart Who hurry the redemption and are troubled by its delay.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָ֥ז | ʾaz | then | H227 → | 141 times |
| תִּפָּקַ֖חְנָה | tipakachnah | they will be opened | H6491 → | 20 times |
| עֵינֵ֣י | ʾeinei | [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| עִוְרִ֑ים | ʾivrim | blind [people] | H5787 → | 26 times |
| וְאָזְנֵ֥י | veazenei | and [the] ears of | H241 → | 187 times |
| חֵרְשִׁ֖ים | chereshim | deaf [people] | H2795 → | 9 times |
| תִּפָּתַֽחְנָה׃ | tipatachnah | they will be unstopped | H6605 → | 144 times |
אָ֥זthen
ʾazH227 →141 times
תִּפָּקַ֖חְנָהthey will be opened
tipakachnahH6491 →20 times
עֵינֵ֣י[the] eyes of
ʾeineiH5869 →887 times
עִוְרִ֑יםblind [people]
ʾivrimH5787 →26 times
וְאָזְנֵ֥יand [the] ears of
veazeneiH241 →187 times
חֵרְשִׁ֖יםdeaf [people]
chereshimH2795 →9 times
תִּפָּתַֽחְנָה׃they will be unstopped
tipatachnahH6605 →144 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Isaiah 29:18On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
it leads to
- Matthew 11:5
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
- Proverbs 20:12
Ears that hear and eyes that see—the LORD has made them both.
- Ephesians 1:17–19
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
- Psalms 119:18
Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law.
- Isaiah 32:3
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
- Matthew 11:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2625: “The Dumb Singing” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Chromatius of Aquileia, TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 48:1; John Chrysostom, DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE PAGANS 3:9; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Leo the Great, SERMON 54:4; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.