Bible Strands
Isaiah 29:18
On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Isaiah speaks to a Judahite community experiencing spiritual blindness and divine discipline, immediately after describing a rapid geographical transformation in chapter 29:17. He points forward to a specific future moment when God will reverse their condition.
The words — סֵפֶר (Sefer) translates literally as a written scroll, and אֹפֶל ('Ofel) denotes a thick, impenetrable gloom. These terms ground the promised restoration in a physical text emerging from absolute obscurity.
The thread — The same sensory reversal appears in Isaiah 35:5 and is applied to Jesus' ministry in Matthew 11:5. It also recalls the created gift of perception noted in Proverbs 20:12.
Why it lands — The text declares that spiritual perception originates from divine intervention, not human effort. It requires the reader to expect God to translate hidden revelation into accessible truth for those in despair.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
- Matthew 11:5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
- Proverbs 20:12 Ears that hear and eyes that see—the LORD has made them both.
- Psalms 119:18 Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law.
- Isaiah 32:3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
- Mark 7:37 The people were utterly astonished and said, “He has done all things well! He makes even the deaf hear and the mute speak!”
- Ephesians 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
- Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’
- Isaiah 42:16 I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
- 2 Corinthians 4:2 Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.