broadness. i.e. (concrete) the ear (from its form in ma… · conjunction + noun, common feminine dual absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Ezekiel 12:2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for…
Deuteronomy 29:2-4 And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh,…
Isaiah 42:18-20 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
2 Corinthians 4:4-6 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the…
Jeremiah 5:21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
Isaiah 44:18-20 They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 43:8-13
God here challenges the worshippers of idols to produce such proofs of the divinity of their false gods as even this very instance (to go no further) of the redemption of the Jews out of Babylon furnished the people of Israel with, to prove that their God is the true and living God, and he only.
I. The patrons of idolatry are here called to appear, and say what they have to say in defence of their idols, Isa 43:8, Isa 43:9. Their gods have eyes and see not, ears and hear not, and those that make them and trust in them are like unto them; so David had said (Psa 115:8), to which the prophet seems here to refer when he calls idolaters blind people that have eyes, and deaf people that have ears.…
Solemn challenge given by God to the nations to argue with Him the question of His superiority to their idols, and His power to deliver Israel (Isa 41:1).
blind people--the Gentiles, who also, like Israel (Isa 42:19), are blind (spiritually), though having eyes; that is, natural faculties, whereby they might know God (Rom 1:20-21) [LOWTH]. Or else, the Jews [VITRINGA].
John Gill on Isaiah 43:8
Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears,.... The Targum applies this to the bringing of the people of Israel out of Egypt; and others understand it of their deliverance from the Babylonish captivity; and some of the exclusion of them from the kingdom of heaven, and casting them into outward darkness, according to Matthew 8:12, but it is rather to be understood of the conviction of them; though better of the Gentiles, and of the enlightening of them, who before were blind; and causing them to hear, who before were deaf to spiritual things, agreeably to what goes before. It seems best to consider the words as a summons to the Heathens uncalled, to the Roman Pag…
That I may bring out. The brevity of the words makes the meaning somewhat obscure. Some translate it thus, "I will bring out the blind, and him who hath eyes," that is, both the blind and them that see, both the deaf and them that hear. Some explain blind to mean those who have indeed eyes, but so dim that they cannot perceive the secrets of heavenly wisdom. But when I take a careful survey of the whole, I prefer to interpret those phrases separately. "I will bring out the blind, so as to restore sight to them; I will bring out the deaf, so that they shall recover their hearing." And thus the meaning of the words is, "To bring out the blind, and they shall have eyes; and to bring out the dea…
The Church Fathers
If they seemed to have the eyes of the soul and a human mind, they were still nonetheless blind to the deceit of idolatry. But what then happened to them provides the basis for Isaiah's message. For the former blind and deaf were gathered together into the church of God even as the rulers of the nations opposed the people of God. The prophet is amazed and tries to make sense of the prophecy that he is speaking, and so he calls out, saying, "Who can announce these things?"
(Verses 8-9) Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears. Let all the nations gather together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among you will declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring their witnesses to justify them, and let them hear and say, 'It is true.' LXX: Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears. All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, 'It is true.' Let them bring their witnesses, and let them be justified, and let them hear and speak the truth. And what follows: Educate the blind people, who have eyes; the deaf, who have ears; many people think that it is said about the Gentile people, who began to hear and see through the teaching of the Apostles. But we should also understand this about the dispersed Israel, who was called by the Apostles and believed first; to whom Paul also speaks: It was necessary for the word of God to be preached to you first (Acts 13:46). And the Lord Himself in the Gospel: Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6). Finally, it follows: all the nations are gathered together, and the tribes are assembled, that is, with the people who believed from the Jews, so that there may be a dual calling, of circumcision and of uncircumcision. But what is said, 'Bring forth, O Lord, the word is spoken to the Son.' Or, according to the Septuagint, the Father speaks to the Son, that He may bring forth His blind and deaf people, and join them to the nations, and make many leaders of the Church from them. And the prophet marvels that no one among the nations could have known these things in advance, nor could they have known the plans of God; but only His people who have received the Law and had prophets: For God is known in Judea, His name is great in Israel (Ps. LXX, 1).
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Condescension Of God · Expostulates with backsliding Israel — Expostulates with backsliding Israel
Depravity Of Man · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Ear, The · Christ opens — Christ opens
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
We come now to the third turn in the second half of this prophecy. It is linked on to the commencement of the first turn ("Hear, ye deaf, and look, ye blind, that ye may see"), the summons being now addressed to some one to bring forth the Israel, which has eyes and ears without seeing or hearing; whilst, on the other hand, the nations are all to come together, and this time not for the purpose of convincing them, but of convincing Israel. "Bring out a blind people, and it has eyes; and deaf people, and yet furnished with ears! All ye heathen, gather yourselves together, and let peoples assemble! Who among you can proclaim such a thing? And let them cause former things to be heard, appoint t…
The Lord here called on Israel, his blind servant, to be his star witness in a mock trial against idols and false gods. Israel knew that the Lord alone is God, and the people had experienced his salvation.
Rashi on Isaiah 43:8
To bring out a blind people Heb. הוֹצִיא, like לְהוֹצִיא to bring out of the exile those who were exiled because they became like blind; although they had eyes, they did not see.
