Ezekiel 12:1-2 NLT Again a message came to me from the LORD: 2 - "Son of man, you live among rebels who have eyes but refuse to see. They have ears but refuse to hear. For they are a rebellious people.
Matthew 13:12-16 NLT To those who listen to My teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 13 - That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don't really see. They hear, but they don't really listen or understand. 14 - This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah [a] that says, 'When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. 15 - For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes--so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to Me and let Me heal them.' 16 - "But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
Mark 4:12 NLT so that the Scriptures [a] might be fulfilled: 'When they see what I do, they will learn nothing. When they hear what I say, they will not understand. Otherwise, they will turn to Me and be forgiven.'"
Luke 8:10 NLT He replied, "You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures [a] might be fulfilled: 'When they look, they won't really see. When they hear, they won't understand.'
John 12:37-43 NLT But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in Him. 38 - This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: [b] "LORD, who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed His powerful arm?" 39 - But the people couldn't believe, for as Isaiah also said, [a] 40 - "The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts--so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to Me and have Me heal them." 41 - Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah's glory. 42 - Many people did believe in Him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn't admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 - For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.
Romans 11:7-10 NLT So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have--the ones God has chosen--but the hearts of the rest were hardened. 8 - As the Scriptures say, [c] "God has put them into a deep sleep (G2660). To this day He has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear." 9 - Likewise, David said, "Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve. 10 - Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever."
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[a] Isaiah 6:9-10 NLT And He said, "Yes, go, and say to this people, 'Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.' 10 - Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to Me for healing."
[b] Isaiah 53:1, 5, 8 NLT Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed His powerful arm? 5 - But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 8 - Unjustly condemned, He was led away. No one cared that He died without descendants, that His life was cut short in midstream. But He was struck down for the rebellion of My people.
[c] Isaiah 29:9-14 NLT Are you amazed and incredulous? Don't you believe it? Then go ahead and be blind. You are stupid, but not from wine! You stagger, but not from liquor! 10 - For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has closed the eyes of your prophets and visionaries. 11 - All the future events in this vision are like a sealed book to them. When you give it to those who can read, they will say, "We can't read it because it is sealed." 12 - When you give it to those who cannot read, they will say, "We don't know how to read." 13 - And so the Lord says, "These people say they are Mine. They honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. And their worship of Me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote. 14 - Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders. The wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear."
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Isaiah 30:8-13 NLT Now go and write down these words. Write them in a book. They will stand until the end of time as a witness 9 - that these people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay attention to the LORD's instructions. 10 - They tell the seers, "Stop seeing visions!" They tell the prophets, "Don't tell us what is right. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies. 11 - Forget all this gloom. Get off your narrow path. Stop telling us about your 'Holy One of Israel.'" 12 - This is the reply of the Holy One of Israel: "Because you despise what I tell you and trust instead in oppression and lies, 13 - calamity will come upon you suddenly--like a bulging wall that bursts and falls. In an instant it will collapse and come crashing down.
Isaiah 30:20-22 NLT Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, He will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. 21 - Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a voice will say, "This is the way you should go," whether to the right or to the left. 22 - Then you will destroy all your silver idols and your precious gold images. You will throw them out like filthy rags, saying to them, "Good riddance!"
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