Bring out a people who have eyes but are blind, and who have ears but are deaf.
Parallel translations
- WEB Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears.
- KJV Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.
- NKJV Bring out the blind people who have eyes, And the deaf who have ears.
- NASB ¶Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And those who are deaf, even though they have ears.
- NLT Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.
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
God calls forth a people who have eyes yet are blind and ears yet are deaf. It summons spiritually dull Israel to serve as witnesses despite their weakness.
Overview
The blind and deaf are God's own people, called to testify to what He has done. Their inability is no obstacle, for the truth rests on God's acts, not their perception. The scene sets up the courtroom of the nations where God will prove He alone is God, a truth ultimately confirmed in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Isa 6:9And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
- Ezek 12:2“Son of man, you are living in a rebellious house. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.
- 2 Cor 4:4–6The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- Isa 42:18–20Listen, you deaf ones; look, you blind ones, that you may see!
- Deut 29:2–4Moses summoned all Israel and proclaimed to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land.
- Jer 5:21“Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
- Isa 44:18–20They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 43:8 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.