Isaiah 42:18
in Isaiah 42Listen, you deaf ones; look, you blind ones, that you may see!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
KJV
Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 42
Commentary
12 notes on this verseIt is evident, indeed, that some possess ears better able to hear the words of God. But to those who do not have those ears, what does he say? "Hear, you deaf, and, you blind, behold." Also, "I opened my mouth and panted," and "You have broken the teeth of sinners."4 All these things were said in reference to the faculties that render service for spiritual food and spiritual doctrine.
This site's exposition
Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind
on Isaiah 42:18-20
The chapter turns its address to Israel directly, hear, ye deaf, and look, ye blind, that ye may see, the same blindness named as the servant's mission to heal in verse 7 now diagnosed in the servant's own people. The question that follows is startling, who is blind, but my servant, or deaf, as my messenger that I sent, applying the title servant to a blind and deaf Israel in the same breath the opening verses applied it to a spirit filled deliverer. The bench names the tension honestly rather than resolving it away, the servant of verse 1 who opens blind eyes and the servant of verse 19 who cannot see, two uses of one title within a single song.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Now the blind see when they see the world, and from the exceedingly great beauty of things that have been created they contemplate the Creator corresponding in greatness and beauty to them. And when they see clearly "the invisible things of God from the creation of the world, which are perceived through the things that are made," [then] they see and understand with attentiveness and clarity.
Who is as blind as the one who has moved away? Symmachus translates, "Who is as blind as the perfect and as blind as the servant of the Lord?" He says that although the nations are just as much in error, they do not deserve …
"Who is deaf but my servant?" And who is blind, but the one to whom I have sent my messengers?" And so that no one might ascribe their blindness to their nature instead of to their own will, he says elsewhere: "Bring forth the people that are blind and have eyes, that are deaf and have ears." And again he says, "You have eyes, but do not see, ears but do not hear."
(Verses 18-19) The deaf, hear! And the blind, look to see. Who is blind, if not my servant? And who is deaf, if not the one to whom I send my messengers? Who is blind, if not the one who has been sold? And who is blind, if not the servant of the Lord? LXX: Hear, you deaf! Look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind, but my children? And deaf, but those who rule over them? Who is blind but he who receives: and the servants of God were made blind. Lest anyone think that what is said, 'Hear, you deaf; look, you blind,' applies to the Gentile people, who were previously deaf and blind (as the Jews foolishly claim to approve by interpretation), the prophetic speech itself shows that the deaf and blind should be understood. '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 Israel?' Who is blind, but the one who was previously a servant of the Lord?
The Medieval Church1 voice
826. Hear, you deaf. Here he shows that they are hard-hearted or disobedient toward his precepts. And first, he shows their hard-heartedness, calling them deaf and blind unitedly: for their own malice blinded them (Wis 2:21), though they may have the eyes and ears of …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This call to the deaf to hear and the blind to see is like the command given to the man that had the withered hand to stretch it forth; though he could not do this, because it was withered, yet, if he had not attempted to do it, he would not have been healed, and his being healed thereupon was owing, not to his act, but to the divine power.
Called thee - To declare my righteousness, or faithfulness. With-hold - Will give thee counsel and strength for the work. Give thee - To be the mediator in whom my covenant of grace is confirmed with mankind.
Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Hear, ye deaf - This is evidently an address to the Jews, and probably to the Jews of the time of the prophet. He had been predicting the coming of the Messiah, and the influence of his religion on the Gentile world. He had said that God would go forth to destroy the idolatry of the pagan nations, and to convince them of the folly of the worship of images, and to confound them for putting their trust in them.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In this they differ from "the blind" (Isa 42:16). The Jews are referred to. He had said, God would destroy the heathen idolatry; here he remembers that even Israel, His "servant" (Isa 42:19), from whom better things might have been expected, is tainted with this sin.
The words behind it
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַחֵרְשִׁ֖ים | hachereshim | O deaf [people] | H2795 → | 9 times |
| שְׁמָ֑עוּ | shemau | listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וְהַעִוְרִ֖ים | vehaivrim | and O blind [people] | H5787 → | 26 times |
| הַבִּ֥יטוּ | habitu | look | H5027 → | 69 times |
| לִרְאֽוֹת׃ | lirot | to see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
הַחֵרְשִׁ֖יםO deaf [people]
hachereshimH2795 →9 times
שְׁמָ֑עוּlisten
shemauH8085 →1159 times
וְהַעִוְרִ֖יםand O blind [people]
vehaivrimH5787 →26 times
הַבִּ֥יטוּlook
habituH5027 →69 times
לִרְאֽוֹת׃to see
lirotH7200 →1300 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
Isaiah 35:5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
it leads to
- Isaiah 42:6–7
“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a…
- Luke 7:20–23
When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?’”
- Isaiah 29:18
On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
- Matthew 11:3–5
to ask Him, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?”
- Isaiah 32:3–4
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
- Isaiah 42:6–7
Through
Proverbs 20:12Ears that hear and eyes that see—the LORD has made them both.
it leads to
- Matthew 13:13–16
This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’
- Psalms 94:9
He who affixed the ear, can He not hear? He who formed the eye, can He not see?
- Matthew 13:13–16
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
- Isaiah 35:5
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
- Isaiah 35:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Isaiah
This page draws on 13 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); Basil of Caesarea, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 16.13. (PSALM 33); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 13:12; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 11:18; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 13:42.19 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.