“Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
Parallel translations
- WEB ‘Hear now this, foolish people, and without understanding; who have eyes, and don’t see; who have ears, and don’t hear:
- KJV Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
- NKJV ‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not:
- NASB ‘Now hear this, you foolish and senseless people, Who have eyes but do not see, Who have ears but do not hear.
- NLT Listen, you foolish and senseless people, with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear.
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
The Philistines abandon their idols, which David and his men carry off. The defeated gods are shown powerless before the Lord.
Overview
In their flight the Philistines leave behind their idols, which David's men remove (and, per 1 Chronicles 14:12, burn). The captured images demonstrate the impotence of false gods against the living Lord of hosts. The scene reverses the earlier capture of the ark and vindicates the supremacy of Israel's God over the nations' idols.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- 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.
- Acts 28:26‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”
- Isa 6:9–10And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
- Rom 11:8as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”
- John 12:40“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”
- Matt 13:13–15This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’
- Jer 4:22“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
- Mark 8:18‘Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?’ And do you not remember?
- Jer 8:7Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the LORD.
- Ps 94:8Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise?
- 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 44:18They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand.
- Prov 17:16Why should the fool have money in his hand with no intention of buying wisdom?
- Deut 29:4Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.
- Deut 32:6Is this how you repay the LORD, O foolish and senseless people? Is He not your Father and Creator? Has He not made you and established you?
- Isa 27:11When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
- Hos 7:11So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.
- Jer 10:8But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 5:21 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.