Isaiah 42:18

Israel's Blindness and Deafness

18 "Listen, you deaf! Look, you blind, so that you may see.

Isaiah 42:18 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 42:18

Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
] Jarchi and Kimchi think these words are spoken to Israel, who, as Aben Ezra says, were deaf and blind in heart; but they are rather an exhortation to the Gentiles that remained impenitent and unbelieving, and who were deaf to the voice of the Gospel, and blind as to the knowledge of it; and the purport of the exhortation is, that they would make use of their external hearing and sight, which they had, that they might attain to a spiritual hearing and understanding of divine things; "for faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God", ( Romans 10:17 ) to hear the Gospel preached, and to look into the Scriptures, and read the word of God, are the means of attaining light and knowledge in spiritual things; and these are within the compass of natural men, who are internally deaf and blind.

Isaiah 42:18 In-Context

16 I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness to light in front of them, and rough places into level ground. This is what I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
17 They will be turned back [and] utterly ashamed- those who trust in idols and say to metal-plated images: You are our gods!
18 "Listen, you deaf! Look, you blind, so that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My servant, or deaf like My messenger I am sending? Who is blind like [My] dedicated one, or blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 Though seeing many things, you do not obey. Though [his] ears are open, he does not listen."
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