Bible Strands
Isaiah 43:8
Bring out a people who have eyes but are blind, and who have ears but are deaf.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God speaks to Israel in the context of gathering the nations to witness His redemptive work, contrasting their claimed covenant identity with their actual condition.
The words — The Hebrew הוֹצִיא (ho.Tzi') means "bring out," and the construction עֵינַיִם יֵשׁ (eina yesh) literally states "there are eyes," marking physical possession without functional perception.
The thread — This pairing of sensory capacity with spiritual unresponsiveness appears in Isaiah 6:9 and Ezekiel 12:2, while Deuteronomy 29:2 records Israel's actual physical observation of God's works in Egypt.
Why it lands — The text states that physical sight and hearing do not guarantee spiritual understanding or obedience, and the passage demands readers acknowledge that historical exposure to God's acts requires active reception.
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
Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 6:9 And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
- Ezekiel 12:2 “Son of man, you are living in a rebellious house. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.
- Deuteronomy 29:2 Moses summoned all Israel and proclaimed to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land.
- Isaiah 42:18 Listen, you deaf ones; look, you blind ones, that you may see!
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- Jeremiah 5:21 “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
- Isaiah 44:18 They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand.