An inability or unwillingness to perceive the truth of the gospel. Passages gathered in the Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin H. Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding; they must be controlled with bit and bridle to make them come to you.
A senseless man does not know, and a fool does not understand, that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.
But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.
They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand. And no one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, "I burned half of it in the fire, and I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?"
"Son of man, you are living in a rebellious house. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.
But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD or understand His plan, for He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
He replied, "The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'
And He replied: "Go and tell this people, 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. "
Then Jesus said to them, "O foolish ones, how slow are your hearts to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, "Are we blind too?" "If you were blind," Jesus replied, "you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains."
So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who are uninstructed or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds?
But if an unbeliever or uninstructed person comes in while everyone is prophesying, he will be convicted and called to account by all,
They wandered blind in the streets, defiled by this blood, so that no one dared to touch their garments.
I will bring such distress on mankind that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
But the disciples did not understand any of these things. The meaning was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend what He was saying.
And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
For this reason they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says: "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them."
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind, and at noon you will grope about like a blind man in the darkness. You will not prosper in your ways. Day after day you will be oppressed and plundered, with no one to save you.
They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
So He poured out on them His furious anger and the fierceness of battle. It enveloped them in flames, but they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.
Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall, groping like those without eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.
But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
'Go to this people and say, "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving." For this people's heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.'
If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.
But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
Then Elisha prayed, "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts those who are weighed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them. But those who trust in idols and say to molten images, 'You are our gods!' will be turned back in utter shame. Listen, you deaf ones; look, you blind ones, that you may see!
"The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus—and He disappeared from their sight.
Jesus replied, "Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. "
Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life."
Then Jesus declared, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind."
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.'
I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand."
Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.
For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, O prophets; He has covered your heads, O seers.
"For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good."
"Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day."
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed. And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.
Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be sightless; be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not from strong drink. For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, O prophets; He has covered your heads, O seers. And the entire vision will be to you like the words sealed in a scroll. If it is handed to someone to read, he will say, "I cannot, because it is sealed." Or if the scroll is handed to one unable to read, he will say, "I cannot read."
Israel's watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.
Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred? And you say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.' You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred?
You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
Jesus also told them a parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
Jesus spoke to them using this illustration, but they did not understand what He was telling them.
if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?
These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they too will be destroyed.
Jesus replied, "Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
You asked, 'Who is this who conceals My counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, "My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?"
"Are you still so dull?" He asked. "Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him,
Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?
But they did not understand this statement. It was veiled from them so that they could not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.
At first His disciples did not understand these things, but after Jesus was glorified they remembered what had been done to Him, and they realized that these very things had also been written about Him.
But whoever lacks these traits is nearsighted to the point of blindness, having forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
You say, 'I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.