Or if the scroll is handed to one unable to read, he will say, “I cannot read.”
Parallel translations
- WEB and the book is delivered to one who is not educated, saying, “Read this, please”; and he says, “I can’t read.”
- KJV And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
- NKJV Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I am not literate.”
- NASB Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I cannot read.”
- NLT When you give it to those who cannot read, they will say, “We don’t know how to read.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
And to the uneducated the book is useless too, for he says he cannot read—total incomprehension.
Overview
The sealed message is equally lost on the unlearned, who simply cannot read it. Whether learned or not, none can grasp God's word in their hardened state. This universal blindness underscores humanity's need for the Spirit to open eyes to understand and receive God's truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- John 7:15–16The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man attain such learning without having studied?”
- Isa 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.
- Jer 5:4Then I said, “They are only the poor; they have played the fool, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.
- Isa 28:12–13to whom He has said: “This is the place of rest, let the weary rest; this is the place of repose.” But they would not listen.
- Hos 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 29:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.