3 The eyes of those who see will not be dim, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
and 4. Then the eyes of them that see. Hence we see more clearly that, while the Prophet describes the reign of Hezekiah, he intends to lead us farther; for here he discourses concerning the restoration of the Church, which indeed was shadowed out by Hezekiah, but has been actually fulfilled in Christ. We know that the Church is never in a healthy condition, unless she be internally ruled by righteous and wise governors. Now, this cannot be, unless Christ reign; and here, therefore, Christ and his reign are specially recommended to us. This promise is contrasted with the dreadful threatening which he had uttered in a former chapter, (Isaiah 29:10,) that he would blind the Jews; for here, on the other hand, he promises the true light, that they who were formerly blind may be enlightened, that "the deaf may begin to hear, that fools may understand, and that stammerers may speak." He calls them seeing and hearing who ought to have seen and heard when the word of God was exhibited to them; but they chose to be blind and deaf, and turned away their thoughts and hearts from doctrine. The Lord promises that he will restore to these persons eyes, ears, a tongue, and understanding. Now, it is certain that nothing is here promised which does not proceed from the grace of God; for he does not merely declare what men will do, but what God himself will do in men. These are extraordinary gifts of God; as, on the contrary, when he blinds, when he takes away understanding and the right use of speech, when he suffers ignorance and barbarism to prevail, these are dreadful punishments by which he takes vengeance on men for their ingratitude and for their contempt of the word. He promises that, at length, in compassion towards his people, the Lord will restore what he had justly taken away from them; and it must have been through the kindness of Christ that a tongue to speak, a mind to understand, and ears to hear, are restored to us; for formerly we were dull of apprehension, and were struck with frightful stupidity. Let us therefore know that out of Christ there is no spiritual life in the world, because here they are declared to be destitute of sight, hearing, sound understanding, and the proper use of speech, "till they be united in one body, of which he is the head." [1] (Ephesians 4:15, 16.) Hence it follows that, when the kingdom of Christ is overthrown, these blessings are also taken away. It ought also to be observed, that the blessings which are here recommended are above all others excellent and desirable; for riches, and possessions, and everything else in which men commonly judge the happiness of life to consist, ought to be reckoned of no value in comparison of these blessings. Amidst the abundance of all things we shall be miserable, unless the Lord restore those spiritual blessings of which the Prophet speaks in this passage; and therefore, when they are taken away, let us know that Christ also is at a distance from us, and that we are strangers to him, seeing that it is from him alone, as Paul informs us, that all spiritual blessings flow. (Ephesians 1:3.) When we see that those blessings which had been taken away for a long period are now restored to us, let us be ashamed of our ingratitude in not rendering to Christ that glory which was due to him, and in not employing the understanding which he gave to us in spreading his kingdom and promoting his worship; for we plainly shew that he has no dominion over us. And the heart of fools. [2] As fools are commonly hasty and rash, so the Hebrew writers take the word haste [3] as denoting folly; for wise men are usually cautious.
1 - "Duquel il soit le chef."
2 - "The heart also of the rash. (Heb. hasty.)" -- Eng.Ver. "The heart also of the hasty." -- Stock
3 - This observation is founded on the Hebrew word nmhrym, (nimharim,) which our Author translates Fools, and which literally means Hasty. -- Ed
And the eyes of them that see - The sense of this verse is, that there shall be, under the reign of this wise and pious prince, on the part of the prophets and teachers, a clear view of divine truth, and on the part of the people who hear, a disposition to hearken and to attend to it. The phrase 'of them that see,' refers probably to the prophets, as those who were called seers (see the notes at Isaiah 29:10; Isaiah 30:10; compare 1-Samuel 9:9), or those who had visions (see the note at Isaiah 1:1) of the things that God would communicate to people. The word rendered 'be dim' (תשׁעינה tishe‛eynâh), is derived from שׁעה shâ‛âh, which usually signifies "to see, to look," but it also has a meaning similar to שׁעע shâ‛a‛, "to spread over, to close, to make blind." Of this fact Lowth seems not to have been aware when he proposed, without the authority of any MS., to change the text. The sense is, that those who were prophets and religious teachers should no more see obscurely, but should have clear and just views of divine truth.
And the ears of them that hear - Of the people who were instructed by their religious teachers.
Shall hearken - It shall be a characteristic of those times that they shall be disposed to attend to the truth of God.
And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim "And him the eyes of those that see shall regard" - For ולא velo, and not, Le Clerc reads ולו velo, and to him, of which mistake the Masoretes acknowledge there are fifteen instances; and many more are reckoned by others. The removal of the negative restores to the verb its true and usual sense.
And the eyes of (d) them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
(d) He promises to give the true light which is the pure doctrine of God's word, and understanding, and zeal of the same, are contrary to the threatenings against the wicked, (Isaiah 6:9, Isaiah 29:10).
And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim,.... Not of the seers and prophets, or ministers of the word only, but of the righteous in general, as the Targum; even all such as are illuminated by the Spirit of God, who shall have a clear discerning of Gospel truths, behold with open face, with eyes unveiled, the glory of them, and of Christ in them, and not have their eyes covered, or such a dim obscure knowledge of them as under the law; and not only the watchmen shall see, eye to eye, all truths clearly and distinctly, but even all, from the least to the greatest, shall know the Lord, and the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of him, as the waters cover the sea. It is a prophecy of the great increase of spiritual light in the times of the Messiah:
and the ears of them that hear shall hearken: very diligently and attentively to the word preached, and receive and embrace the doctrines of the Gospel, and submit to, and obey, the ordinances of it.
them that see--the seers or prophets.
them that hear--the people under instruction (Isaiah 35:5-6).
The second is an opened understanding, following upon the ban of hardening. "And the eyes of the seeing no more are closed, and the ears of the hearing attend. And the heart of the hurried understands to know, and the tongue of stammerers speaks clear things with readiness." It is not physical miracles that are predicted here, but a spiritual change. The present judgment of hardening will be repealed: this is what Isaiah 32:3 affirms. The spiritual defects, from which many suffer who do not belong to the worst, will be healed: this is the statement in Isaiah 32:4. The form תּשׁעינה is not the future of שׁעה here, as in Isaiah 31:1; Isaiah 22:4; Isaiah 17:7-8 (in the sense of, they will no longer stare about restlessly and without aim), but of שׁעה = שׁעע, a metaplastic future of the latter, in the sense of, to be smeared over to closed (see Isaiah 29:9; Isaiah 6:10; cf., tach in Isaiah 44:18). On qâshabh (the kal of which is only met with here), see at Isaiah 21:7. The times succeeding the hardening, of which Isaiah is speaking here, are "the last times," as Isaiah 6:1-13 clearly shows; though it does not therefore follow that the king mentioned in Isaiah 32:1 (as in Isaiah 11:1.) is the Messiah Himself. In Isaiah 32:1 the prophet merely affirms, that Israel as a national commonwealth will then be governed in a manner well pleasing to God; here he predicts that Israel as a national congregation will be delivered from the judgment of not seeing with seeing eyes, and not hearing with hearing ears, and that it will be delivered from defects of weakness also. The nimhârı̄m are those that fall headlong, the precipitate, hurrying, or rash; and the עלּגים, stammerers, are not scoffers (Isaiah 28:7., Isaiah 19:20), as Knobel and Drechsler maintain, but such as are unable to think and speak with distinctness and certainty, more especially concerning the exalted things of God. The former would now have the gifts of discernment (yâbhı̄n), to perceive things in their true nature, and to distinguish under all circumstances that which is truly profitable (lâda‛ath); the latter would be able to express themselves suitably, with refinement, clearness, and worthiness. Tsachōth (old ed. tsâchōth) signifies that which is light, transparent; not merely intelligible, but refined and elegant. תּמהר gives the adverbial idea to ledabbēr (Ewald, 285, a).
The eyes - The people, they shall not shut their eyes and ears against the good counsels and examples of their religious king and rulers, as they have done formerly: both princes and people shall be reformed.
*More commentary available at chapter level.