Isaiah 44:18

18 They do not know, and they do not understand, for their eyes [are] besmeared {so that they cannot see}, their {minds} {so that they have no insight}.

Isaiah 44:18 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 44:18

They have not known nor understood
Who the true God is, nor the worship that is due to him alone; they do not know nor understand divine and spiritual things; nay, they have not the knowledge and understanding of men; they want common sense that can do and say such things as before mentioned, both idol makers and idol worshippers: for he hath shut their eyes that they cannot see, and their heart that
they cannot understand;
either the devil, as some think, the god of this world, that blinds their eyes from seeing the folly of such gross idolatry, which he, deceiving them, leads them into; or rather God himself, who, because they like not to retain him in their knowledge, gives them up to a reprobate and injudicious mind, to believe a lie, and worship a false god; this he permits, orders, and overrules to some good ends and purposes: this is to be understood of the eyes of the understanding, which, as the word F9 signifies, are "daubed" and plastered over, that there is no opening of them, and seeing with them; which is the judicial blindness and hardness of heart, which God sometimes in righteous judgment gives up men unto; see ( Romans 1:28 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F9 (Mhynye xt) "oblevit oculos eorum", Montanus; "obleverit", Cocceius; "quod [sculptile] oblinat", Piscator.

Isaiah 44:18 In-Context

16 He burns half of it in [the] fire; he eats meat over half of it; he roasts a roast and is satisfied. Also he grows warm and says, "Ah! I am warm! I see [the] fire!"
17 And he makes the remainder of it into a god! He bows down to his idol, and he bows in worship and prays to him, and he says, "Save me, for you [are] my god!"
18 They do not know, and they do not understand, for their eyes [are] besmeared {so that they cannot see}, their {minds} {so that they have no insight}.
19 And {no one takes it to heart}, and [there is] no knowledge and no understanding to say, "I burned half of it in [the] fire and also I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat, and I have eaten. And I shall make [the] rest of it into an abomination! I shall bow down to a block of wood!"
20 [He] feeds [on] ashes; a {deceived mind} misleads him. And he cannot save {himself}, and he cannot say, "Is [this] not an illusion in my right hand?"

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Literally "from seeing"
  • [b]. Literally "hearts"
  • [c]. Literally "from having insight"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.