Isaiah 6:10

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I. Send me!”

⁹ And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’

Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

¹¹ Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied and the land is desolate and ravaged,

¹² until the LORD has driven men far away and the land is utterly forsaken.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
KJV: Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
WEB: Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.”
ASV: Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they sea with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.
DARBY: Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and healed.
BLB: Fatten the heart of this people, and its ears make heavy and its eyes shut, lest it see with its eyes, hear and with its ears, and understand [with] its heart, and turn back and there be healing for it.

ÅB: Gjør dette folks hjerte sløvt og gjør dets ører tunghørte og klin dets øyne til, for at det ikke skal se med sine øyne og ikke høre med sine ører, og dets hjerte ikke forstå og omvende seg, så det blir legt!
OTB: Gjør hjertet til dette folket sløvt, gjør ørene tunge, og lukk øynene; så de ikke ser med øynene, hører med ørene, forstår med hjertet, og vender om og blir helbredet."
B1930: Gjør dette folks hjerte sløvt og gjør dets ører tunghørte og klin dets øine til, forat det ikke skal se med sine øine og ikke høre med sine ører, og dets hjerte ikke forstå og omvende sig, så det blir lægt!

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Matthew 13:15
For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’
Read in context
Acts 28:27
For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’
Read in context
Jeremiah 5:21
“Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
Read in context
Jeremiah 6:10
To whom can I give this warning? Who will listen to me? Look, their ears are closed, so they cannot hear. See, the word of the LORD has become offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.
Read in context
John 3:19–20
And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
Read in context
Zechariah 7:11
But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
Read in context
Isaiah 29:10
For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, O prophets; He has covered your heads, O seers.
Read in context
Isaiah 63:17
Why, O LORD, do You make us stray from Your ways and harden our hearts from fearing You? Return, for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.
Read in context