Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
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:
- BSB “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
- 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 12:2Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.
- Acts 28:26Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
- Isa 6:9–10And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
- Rom 11:8(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
- John 12:40He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
- Matt 13:13–15Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
- Jer 4:22For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
- Mark 8:18Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
- Jer 8:7Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.
- Ps 94:8Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
- Jer 5:4Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.
- Isa 44:18They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
- Prov 17:16Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?
- Deut 29:4Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
- Deut 32:6Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?
- Isa 27:11When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
- Hos 7:11Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.
- Jer 10:8But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.
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.