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Isaiah 42:18–23

Israel’s Failure to Hear and See

18  Hear, you deaf,

and look, you blind, that you may see!

19  Who is blind but my servant,

or deaf as my messenger whom I send?

Who is blind as my dedicated one,4

or blind as the servant of the Lord?

20  hHe sees many things, but does not observe them;

ihis ears are open, but he does not hear.

21  The Lord was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake,

to magnify his law and make it glorious.

22  But this is a people plundered and looted;

they are all of them trapped in holes

jand hidden in prisons;

they have become plunder with none to rescue,

spoil with none to say, “Restore!”

23  Who among you will give ear to this,

will attend and listen for the time to come?

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Isaiah 42:18–23 — The New International Version (NIV)

18 “Hear, you deaf;

look, you blind, and see!

19 Who is blind but my servant,

and deaf like the messenger I send?

Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,

blind like the servant of the Lord?

20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;

your ears are open, but you do not listen.”

21 It pleased the Lord

for the sake of his righteousness

to make his law great and glorious.

22 But this is a people plundered and looted,

all of them trapped in pits

or hidden away in prisons.

They have become plunder,

with no one to rescue them;

they have been made loot,

with no one to say, “Send them back.”

23 Which of you will listen to this

or pay close attention in time to come?

Isaiah 42:18–23 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

18 Hear, ye deaf;

And look, ye blind, that ye may see.

19 Who is blind, but my servant?

Or deaf, as my messenger that I sent?

Who is blind as he that is perfect,

And blind as the Lord’s servant?

20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not;

Opening the ears, but he heareth not.

21 The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake;

He will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled;

They are all of them snared in holes,

And they are hid in prison houses:

They are for a prey, and none delivereth;

For a spoil, and none saith, Restore.

23 Who among you will give ear to this?

Who will hearken and hear for the time to come?

Isaiah 42:18–23 — New Living Translation (NLT)

18 “Listen, you who are deaf!

Look and see, you blind!

19 Who is as blind as my own people, my servant?

Who is as deaf as my messenger?

Who is as blind as my chosen people,

the servant of the Lord?

20 You see and recognize what is right

but refuse to act on it.

You hear with your ears,

but you don’t really listen.”

21 Because he is righteous,

the Lord has exalted his glorious law.

22 But his own people have been robbed and plundered,

enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped.

They are fair game for anyone

and have no one to protect them,

no one to take them back home.

23 Who will hear these lessons from the past

and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?

Isaiah 42:18–23 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

18 “Hear, you deaf;

And look, you blind, that you may see.

19 Who is blind but My servant,

Or deaf as My messenger whom I send?

Who is blind as he who is perfect,

And blind as the Lord’s servant?

20 Seeing many things, but you do not observe;

Opening the ears, but he does not hear.”

21 The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake;

He will exalt the law and make it honorable.

22 But this is a people robbed and plundered;

All of them are snared in holes,

And they are hidden in prison houses;

They are for prey, and no one delivers;

For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!”

23 Who among you will give ear to this?

Who will listen and hear for the time to come?

Isaiah 42:18–23 — New Century Version (NCV)

18 “You who are deaf, hear me.

You who are blind, look and see.

19 No one is more blind than my servant Israel

or more deaf than the messenger I send.

No one is more blind than the person I own

or more blind than the servant of the Lord.

20 Israel, you have seen much, but you have not obeyed.

You hear, but you refuse to listen.”

21 The Lord made his teachings wonderful,

because he is good.

22 These people have been defeated and robbed.

They are trapped in pits

or locked up in prison.

Like robbers, enemies have taken them away,

and there is no one to save them.

Enemies carried them off,

and no one said, “Bring them back.”

23 Will any of you listen to this?

Will you listen carefully in the future?

Isaiah 42:18–23 — American Standard Version (ASV)

18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. 19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I send? who is blind as he that is at peace with me, and blind as Jehovah’s servant? 20 Thou seest many things, but thou observest not; his ears are open, but he heareth not. 21 It pleased Jehovah, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify the law, and make it honorable. 22 But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison-houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.

23 Who is there among you that will give ear to this? that will hearken and hear for the time to come?

Isaiah 42:18–23 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

18 —Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. 19 Who is blind, but my servant? and deaf, as my messenger whom I sent? Who is blind as he in whom I have trusted, and blind as Jehovah’s servant, 20 —seeing many things, and thou observest not? With opened ears, he heareth not. 21 Jehovah had delight in him for his righteousness’ sake: he hath magnified the law, and made it honourable. 22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and hidden in prison-houses; they are become a prey, and none delivereth, —a spoil, and none saith, Restore. 23 Who among you will give ear to this, who will hearken and hear what is to come?

Isaiah 42:18–23 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

18 Listen, you deaf people. 

Look, you blind people, so that you can see. 

19 Who is blind except my servant 

or deaf like the messenger I send? 

Who is blind like the one who has my trust 

or blind like the servant of the Lord

20 You have seen much, but you do not observe anything. 

Your ears are open, but you hear nothing. 

21 The Lord is pleased because he does what is right. 

He praises the greatness of his teachings and makes them glorious. 

22 But these people are robbed and looted. 

They are all trapped in pits and hidden in prisons. 

They have become prey with no one to rescue them. 

They have become loot with no one to say, “Give it back.” 

23 Who among you will listen to this? 

Is there anyone who will pay attention and listen in the future? 

Isaiah 42:18–23 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

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.”

21 The Lord was pleased, because of His righteousness,

to magnify His instruction and make it glorious.

22 But this is a people plundered and looted,

all of them trapped in holes

or imprisoned in dungeons.

They have become plunder

with no one to rescue them

and loot, with no one saying, “Give it back!”

23 Who among you will pay attention to this?

Let him listen and obey in the future.

Isaiah 42:18–23 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

18 Listen, you that are deaf;

and you that are blind, look up and see!

19 Who is blind but my servant,

or deaf like my messenger whom I send?

Who is blind like my dedicated one,

or blind like the servant of the Lord?

20 He sees many things, but does not observe them;

his ears are open, but he does not hear.

21 The Lord was pleased, for the sake of his righteousness,

to magnify his teaching and make it glorious.

22 But this is a people robbed and plundered,

all of them are trapped in holes

and hidden in prisons;

they have become a prey with no one to rescue,

a spoil with no one to say, “Restore!”

23 Who among you will give heed to this,

who will attend and listen for the time to come?

Isaiah 42:18–23 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

18 Deaf people, listen!

And blind people, look to see!

19 Who is blind but my servant

or deaf like my messenger whom I sent?

Who is blind like the one who is repaid

or blind like the servant of Yahweh?

20 You see many things, but you do not observe.

His ears are open, but he does not hear.

21 Yahweh was willing for the sake of his righteousness;

he showed his teaching to be great and proved it to be glorious.

22 But this is a people plundered and looted; all of them are trapped in holes,

and they are kept hidden in houses of imprisonment.

They have become like plunder, and there is no one who saves;

like booty, and there is no one who says, “Restore!”

23 Who among you will heed this,

will listen attentively and listen, for the time to come?

Isaiah 42:18–23 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

18 “Israel, listen to me! You can hear,

but you do not understand.

Look to me! You can see,

but you do not know what you are seeing.

19 The people of Israel serve me. But who is more blind than they are?

Who is more deaf than the messengers I send?

Who is more blind than those who have committed themselves to be faithful to me?

Who is more blind than my servants?

20 Israel, you have seen many things.

But you have not paid any attention to me.

Your ears are open.

But you do not hear anything I say.”

21 The Lord wanted his people to see

how great and glorious his law is.

He wanted to show them

that he always does what is right.

22 Enemies have carried off everything they own.

All of my people are trapped in pits

or hidden away in prisons.

They themselves have become like stolen goods.

No one can save them.

They have been carried off.

And there is no one who will say, “Send them back.”

23 Family of Jacob, who among you will listen to what I’m saying?

People of Israel, which one of you will pay close attention in days to come?

Isaiah 42:18–23 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

18 Hear, you deaf!

And look, you blind, that you may see.

19 Who is blind but My servant,

Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?

Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me,

Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?

20 You have seen many things, but you do not observe them;

Your ears are open, but none hears.

21 The Lord was pleased for His righteousness sake

To make the law great and glorious.

22 But this is a people plundered and despoiled;

All of them are trapped in caves,

Or are hidden away in prisons;

They have become a prey with none to deliver them,

And a spoil, with none to say, “Give them back!”

23 Who among you will give ear to this?

Who will give heed and listen hereafter?


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