Question 1

In verses 9–10, what repeated verbs shape the passage’s main contrast, and what contrast do they create?

Accepted Answer

The passage repeats “hear” and “see,” then contrasts them with “understand” and “perceive.” The point is that the people are not lacking exposure: they will keep encountering the prophetic message and keep witnessing events that should clarify what God is doing. Yet that exposure does not become insight. The language draws a line between outward experience (hearing words, seeing realities) and inward comprehension. It frames the crisis as interpretive and moral, not merely informational: something blocks the movement from encounter to understanding.

Question 2

How does verse 10 describe the people’s inner condition, and why use “heart,” “ears,” and “eyes” together?

Accepted Answer

Verse 10 uses three linked images: an insensitive “heart,” “heavy” ears, and “shut” eyes. Together they portray the whole pathway of response as blocked—from perception (eyes/ears) to meaning and resolve (heart). The language suggests more than distraction or ignorance; it describes a dulled responsiveness. Because the passage has just said they will keep hearing and seeing, these body-part images function as metaphors for an inward inability or refusal to register what is being communicated. The combined picture is comprehensive: the obstacle is not located in only one area of human life.

Question 3

What role does the “lest” clause play in verse 10, and what sequence does it describe?

Accepted Answer

The “lest” clause explains the outcome being prevented: seeing, hearing, understanding, turning again, and being healed. It lays out a progression from perception to comprehension, then to a changed direction (“turn again”), and finally to restoration (“be healed”). In the logic of the verse, the hardening language aims at stopping that progression. This makes the passage sound stark: the commission involves a message that will not lead to quick repentance and recovery. The clause also shows what Isaiah thinks genuine understanding would produce—actual reversal and restoration, not just agreement.

Question 4

What does the command to Isaiah (“Go, and tell this people…”) suggest about the relationship between the prophet’s preaching and the people’s response?

Accepted Answer

The passage presents Isaiah’s preaching as central to what follows: he is told to go and speak, and the predicted effect is ongoing hearing and seeing without understanding. That establishes that prophetic proclamation can function in more than one way—either as a means of bringing understanding or, in this case, as a means that results in further hardening. The text itself does not explain the full mechanism, but it tightly links the ministry of the prophet to the community’s increasing inability (or unwillingness) to grasp and respond. The commission anticipates resistance as the normal response.

Question 5

Based on the immediate context (Isaiah’s call in 6:1–8), why is this commission especially surprising?

Accepted Answer

Isaiah’s call begins with a vision of God’s holiness, Isaiah’s recognition of his own uncleanness, and a cleansing that prepares him to speak. That setup might lead readers to expect a hopeful mission with immediate impact. Instead, the assignment is negative-sounding: Isaiah will speak, but understanding will not follow. The surprise sharpens the theme that God’s holiness includes judgment as well as cleansing. It also reframes prophetic success: Isaiah is commissioned to faithfully deliver God’s words even when the near-term effect is not widespread repentance but exposure of a community’s resistance.

Question 6

What does the phrase “this people” imply about the intended audience, and what uncertainties remain?

Accepted Answer

“This people” marks a definite target group, likely the community Isaiah is sent to address in Judah. The wording can sound distancing, as if the speaker is highlighting a problem with the people’s posture rather than simply naming them neutrally. At the same time, the phrase leaves open how broad the target is: it could mean the whole nation, or it could focus on a resistant majority shaping the public response. The immediate passage does not specify leaders versus common people, so the audience boundary has to be inferred from the broader book and setting.

A message that hardens hearing

A message that hardens hearing

A message that hardens hearing

Scripture

What this passage is saying

A message that hardens hearing

Scripture

What this passage is saying