‘Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?’ And do you not remember?
Parallel translations
- WEB Having eyes, don’t you see? Having ears, don’t you hear? Don’t you remember?
- KJV Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
- NKJV Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?
- NASB Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember,
- NLT ‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?
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
Jesus asks if they have eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, and whether they remember. He presses them to recall what they have witnessed.
Overview
The words allude to prophetic indictments of Israel's spiritual blindness (Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2). Jesus applies this danger to his own followers, urging active remembrance of his works. True discipleship requires that the eyes and ears of the heart be opened to perceive who Jesus is.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Acts 28:26–27‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”
- Matt 13:14–15In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
- Jer 5:21“Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
- Mark 4:12so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.’”
- 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.
- 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.”
- Isa 6:9–10And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
- Isa 42:18–20Listen, you deaf ones; look, you blind ones, that you may see!
- 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.”
- Ps 115:5–8They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
- 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.
- Deut 29:4Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.
- Ps 69:23May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.
- 2 Pet 1:12Therefore I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 8:18 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.