Isaiah 42:7
in Isaiah 42to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house.
KJV
To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
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This verse in Isaiah 42
Commentary
8 notes on this verse"The opened eyes of the blind" means [Christ] provided clear knowledge of the Father through the Son.
This site's exposition
he that created the heavens
on Isaiah 42:5-7
The song's second movement opens by naming the speaker in full, God the Lord, who created the heavens, spread out the earth, and gives breath to every person walking on it, the creator's own authority behind the commission that follows. The servant is called in righteousness, held by the hand, kept, and given for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, the same phrase Simeon later applies to the infant Christ at Luke 2:32. His work is stated concretely, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house, and Gill reads the darkness and the prison as both literal exile and the deeper bondage the gospel answers.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
He calls "blind" here those who are impaired in their intellectual vision; he calls the same people imprisoned by the bonds of sin and held by the darkness of error. After having delivered them from the murk of ignorance and having broken the bonds of …
(Verses 6-7) I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
The Medieval Church1 voice
He also shows the use of his office against faithlessness: that you might open the eyes of the blind: for judgment I am come into this world: that they who see not may see; and they who see may become blind (John 9:39); against the …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
To open the blind eyes,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
To open the blind eyes - This is equivalent to saying that he would impart instruction to those who were ignorant. It relates to the Jews as well as to the Gentiles. He would acquaint them with God, and with the way of salvation. The condition of the world is often represented as one of darkness and blindness. Men see not their true character; they see not their real condition; they are ignorant of God, and of the truths pertaining to their future existence; and they need, therefore, some one who shall enlighten, and sanctify, and save them.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
To open the blind eyes - In this verse the prophet seems to set forth the spiritual redemption, under images borrowed from the temporal deliverance. Out of the prison house “And from the dungeon” - The Septuagint, Syriac, and four MSS., one ancient, add the conjunction ו vau, ומבית umibbeith, and from the house.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לִפְקֹ֖חַ | lifkoach | to open | H6491 → | 20 times |
| עֵינַ֣יִם | ʾeinayim | eyes | H5869 → | 887 times |
| עִוְר֑וֹת | ivrot | blind | H5787 → | 26 times |
| לְהוֹצִ֤יא | lehotzi' | to bring out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִמַּסְגֵּר֙ | mimasger | from prison | H4525 → | |
| אַסִּ֔יר | ʾasir | prisoner[s] | H616 → | 5 times |
| מִבֵּ֥ית | mibeit | from a house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| כֶּ֖לֶא | kele' | imprisonment | H3608 → | |
| יֹ֥שְׁבֵי | yoshevei | [those who] dwell of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ | choshekh | darkness | H2822 → | 80 times |
לִפְקֹ֖חַto open
lifkoachH6491 →20 times
עֵינַ֣יִםeyes
ʾeinayimH5869 →887 times
עִוְר֑וֹתblind
ivrotH5787 →26 times
לְהוֹצִ֤יאto bring out
lehotzi'H3318 →1067 times
מִמַּסְגֵּר֙from prison
mimasgerH4525 →
אַסִּ֔ירprisoner[s]
ʾasirH616 →5 times
מִבֵּ֥יתfrom a house of
mibeitH1004 →2046 times
כֶּ֖לֶאimprisonment
kele'H3608 →
יֹ֥שְׁבֵי[those who] dwell of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃darkness
choshekhH2822 →80 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 61:1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty…
it leads to
- Luke 4:18–19
“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight…
- Luke 7:22
So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and…
- 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.
- Psalms 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
- Isaiah 42:1
“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.
- Luke 4:18–19
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.
- Isaiah 42:6–7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata Book 1; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12:42.7 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.