(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.
Parallel translations
- WEB According 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.”
- BSB as 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.”
- NKJV Just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.”
- NASB just as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes to see not and ears to hear not, Down to this very day.”
- NLT As the Scriptures say, “God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they 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
Scripture testifies that God gave unbelieving Israel a spirit of stupor, dull eyes and ears, to this day.
Overview
Paul weaves together Deuteronomy 29:4 and Isaiah 29:10 to show that this hardening was foretold in Israel's own Scriptures. The imagery of unseeing eyes and unhearing ears describes a spiritual insensibility under God's judgment. Yet, as the chapter will argue, this hardening is neither total nor final, leaving room for mercy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Deut 29:4Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
- Isa 29:10For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
- 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.
- Jer 5:21Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
- 2 Cor 3:14–15But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
- Luke 8:10And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
- Matt 13:13–14Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
- 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:
- Mark 4:11–12And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
- Isa 6:9And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
- 2 Kgs 17:41So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
- 2 Kgs 17:34Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 11:8 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
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