‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who 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:
- KJV Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
- BSB “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
- 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 dwell in the middle of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see, and don’t see, who have ears to hear, and don’t hear; for they are a rebellious house.
- Acts 28:26saying, ‘Go to this people, and say, in hearing, you will hear, but will in no way understand. In seeing, you will see, but will in no way perceive.
- Isa 6:9–10He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand; and you see indeed, but don’t perceive.’
- Rom 11:8According as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.”
- John 12:40“He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and would turn, and I would heal them.”
- Matt 13:13–15Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.
- Jer 4:22“For my people are foolish, they don’t know me. They are foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are skillful in doing evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”
- Mark 8:18Having eyes, don’t you see? Having ears, don’t you hear? Don’t you remember?
- Jer 8:7Yes, the stork in the sky knows her appointed times; and the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people don’t know Yahweh’s law.
- Ps 94:8Consider, you senseless among the people; you fools, when will you be wise?
- Jer 5:4Then I said, “Surely these are poor. They are foolish; for they don’t know the way of Yahweh, nor the law of their God.
- Isa 44:18They don’t know, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they can’t see; and their hearts, that they can’t understand.
- Prov 17:16Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, since he has no understanding?
- Deut 29:4But Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day.
- Deut 32:6Is this the way you repay Yahweh, foolish and unwise people? Isn’t he your father who has bought you? He has made you and established you.
- Isa 27:11When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women will come and set them on fire, for they are a people of no understanding. Therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, and he who formed them will show them no favor.
- Hos 7:11“Ephraim is like an easily deceived dove, without understanding. They call to Egypt. They go to Assyria.
- Jer 10:8But they are together brutish and foolish, instructed by idols! It is just 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.