Isaiah 6:11

11 Then I said, ¹"How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until ²cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,

Isaiah 6:11 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 6:11

Then said I, Lord, how long?
&c.] That is, how long will this blindness, hardness, stupidity, and impenitence, remain with this people, or they be under such a sore judgment of God upon them: and he answered, until the cities be wasted without inhabitant,
and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate;
until there is not an inhabitant in the cities of Judea, nor in Jerusalem, the metropolis of the land, nor a single man in any house in them; which denotes the utter desolation of the land and city; and can refer to no other than to the desolation thereof by the Romans; and till that time the blindness which happened to them continued; the things which belonged to their peace were hid from their eyes till their city was destroyed, and not one stone left upon another, ( Luke 19:42-44 ) till that time, and even to this day, the veil of blindness, ignorance, and and penitence, is on their hearts, and will remain until they are converted to the Lord, in the latter day; see ( Romans 11:25 Romans 11:26 ) ( 2 Corinthians 3:14-16 ) .

Isaiah 6:11 In-Context

9 And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'

10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

11 Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,

12 and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 79:5; Psalms 89:46
• 2. [Isaiah 1:7; Isaiah 27:10]