“Son of man, you live among people who refuse to obey me. They have eyes to see what I have done for them, but they don’t see those things. They have ears to hear what I told them to do, but they don’t hear my commands, because they are a rebellious people.
‘Go to this people and tell them: You will listen and you will hear, but you will not understand. You will look and you will see, but you will not understand what you see.
As the Scriptures say, “God caused the people to fall asleep.” Isaiah 29:10 “God closed their eyes so that they could not see, and he closed their ears so that they could not hear. This continues until now.” Deuteronomy 29:4
“God made the people blind. He closed their minds. He did this so that they would not see with their eyes and understand with their minds. He did it so that they would not turn and be healed.” Isaiah 6:10
The Lord said, “My people are foolish. They don’t know me. They are stupid children. They don’t understand. They are skillful at doing evil, but they don’t know how to do good.”
Even the birds in the sky know the right time to do things. The storks, doves, swifts, and thrushes know when it is time to fly to a new home. But my people don’t know what the Lord wants them to do.
But I said to myself, “It must be only the poor who are so foolish. They have not learned the way of the Lord. They don’t know the teachings of their God.
People like that don’t know what they are doing! They don’t understand. It is as if they have mud in their eyes so they cannot see. Their minds cannot understand.
The vines will become dry, and the branches will break off. Women will use them for firewood. The people refuse to understand. So God, their Maker, will not comfort them or be kind to them.
Is this the way you repay the Lord for all he has done for you? You are stupid, foolish people. He is your Father and your Creator. He made you, and he supports you.
I do this so that ‘They will look and look but never really see; they will listen and listen but never understand. If they saw and understood, they might change and be forgiven.’” Isaiah 6:9-10
There are things about God that people cannot see—his eternal power and all that makes him God. But since the beginning of the world, those things have been easy for people to understand. They are made clear in what God has made. So people have no excuse for the evil they do.
Who can I speak to? Who can I warn? Who will listen to me? The people of Israel have closed their ears, so they cannot hear my warnings. They don’t like the Lord’s teachings. They don’t want to hear his message.
You people of Judah were doing all these evil things too. This message is from the Lord! I spoke to you again and again, but you refused to listen to me. I called to you, but you did not answer.