Isaiah Chapter 42 verse 20 Holy Bible
Thou seest many things, but thou observest not; his ears are open, but he heareth not.
read chapter 42 in ASV
Seeing much, but keeping nothing in mind; his ears are open, but there is no hearing.
read chapter 42 in BBE
-- seeing many things, and thou observest not? With opened ears, he heareth not.
read chapter 42 in DARBY
Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.
read chapter 42 in KJV
read chapter 42 in WBT
You see many things, but don't observe. His ears are open, but he doesn't hear.
read chapter 42 in WEB
Seeing many things, and thou observest not, Opening ears, and he heareth not.
read chapter 42 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 20. - Seeing many things, but, etc. Israel had "seen many things;" i.e. passed through a long experience, but not profited by it - not been "observant," as they should have been. They had had their ears open in a certain sense, and heard the words that the prophets addressed to them, but had not taken in their true import. (The mixture of persons is like that in Isaiah 1:29 and Isaiah 14:30.)
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(20) Seeing many things . . .--With a clear vision into the future, the prophet sees that the future Israel will be as far from the ideal as his contemporaries had been. In the actual work of the Servant we find the fulfilment of his vision. Scribes and Pharisees are as those who "learn nothing and forget nothing," on whom all the lessons of experience are cast away, reproducing the state from which Isaiah started (Isaiah 6:10; Matthew 13:14; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26). The transfer of the words to the sufferings of the Christ, who bore them as though He neither heard nor saw, is scarcely tenable. . . .
