Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
Parallel translations
- WEB Having eyes, don’t you see? Having ears, don’t you hear? Don’t you remember?
- BSB ‘Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?’ And do you 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 28:26–27Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
- Matt 13:14–15And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
- Jer 5:21Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
- Mark 4:12That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
- 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.
- 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.
- Isa 6:9–10And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
- Isa 42:18–20Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
- 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.
- Ps 115:5–8They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
- 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.
- Deut 29:4Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
- Ps 69:23Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.
- 2 Pet 1:12Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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.