Limitless Word
“Listen to me, you stubborn people who are so far from doing right.
Isaiah 46:12 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, who are far from righteousness!
  • KJV Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:
  • BSB Listen to Me, you stubborn people, far removed from righteousness:
  • NKJV “Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted, Who are far from righteousness:
  • NASB ¶“Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded, Who are far from righteousness.

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 addresses the stubborn-hearted who are far from righteousness, calling them to listen. Even the hardened are summoned to hear.

Overview

Yahweh speaks to those resistant and distant from righteousness, commanding their attention. It is a gracious word to the obstinate, preparing them for the promise of salvation that follows. God's call to the stubborn shows his patience, the same patience that seeks sinners through the gospel.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Jer 2:5Yahweh says, “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after worthless vanity, and have become worthless?
  • Eph 2:13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ.
  • Isa 46:3“Listen to me, house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, that have been carried from their birth, that have been carried from the womb.
  • Isa 48:4Because I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your brow brass;
  • Isa 28:23Give ear, and hear my voice! Listen, and hear my speech!
  • Zech 7:11–12But they refused to listen, and turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
  • Prov 8:1–5Doesn’t wisdom cry out? Doesn’t understanding raise her voice?
  • Prov 1:22–23“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery, and fools hate knowledge?
  • Ps 76:5Valiant men lie plundered, they have slept their last sleep. None of the men of war can lift their hands.
  • Ps 119:155Salvation is far from the wicked, for they don’t seek your statutes.
  • Ps 49:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,
  • Ps 119:150They draw near who follow after wickedness. They are far from your law.
  • Isa 45:20“Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image, and pray to a god that can’t save.
  • Rev 3:17–18Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing;’ and don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked;
  • Mal 3:13–15“Your words have been stout against me,” says Yahweh. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against you?’
  • Isa 48:1“Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and have come out of the waters of Judah. You swear by Yahweh’s name, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness
  • Acts 7:51“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you do.
  • Eph 5:14Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 46:12YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 46:12 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.