Acts 28:27

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
For the hearts of these peoplehave grown callous,their ears are hard of hearing,and they have shut their eyes;otherwise they might see with their eyesand hear with their ears,understand with their heartand turn,and I would heal them.

King James Version (1611)
For the heart of this people is waxed grosse, and their eares are dull of hearing, and their eyes haue they closed, lest they should with their eyes, and heare with their eares, and vnderstand with their heart, and should bee conuerted, and I should heale them.

King James Version
For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

English Standard Version
For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.'

New American Standard Bible
FOR THE HEARTS OF THIS PEOPLE HAVE BECOME INSENSITIVE, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY HARDLY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM."'

New Century Version
because these people have become stubborn. They don't hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might really understand what they see with their eyes and hear with their ears. They might really understand in their minds and come back to me and be healed.' Isaiah 6:9–10

Amplified Bible
FOR THE HEART (the understanding, the soul) OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL (calloused), AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE SHUT THEIR EYES [to the truth]; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN [to Me], AND I WOULD HEAL THEM."'

New American Standard Bible (1995)
FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM."'

Legacy Standard Bible
For the heart of this people has become dull,And with their ears they scarcely hear,And they have closed their eyes;Lest they might see with their eyes,And hear with their ears,And understand with their heart and return,And I heal them."'

Berean Standard Bible
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.'

Contemporary English Version
All of you have stubborn hearts. Your ears are stopped up, and your eyes are covered. You cannot see or hear or understand. If you could, you would turn to me, and I would heal you.'"

Complete Jewish Bible
because the heart of this people has grown thick — with their ears they barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, for fear that they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and do t'shuvah, so that I could heal them."'

Darby Translation
For the heart of this people has become fat, and they hear heavily with their ears, and they have closed their eyes; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

Easy-to-Read Version
Yes, the minds of these people are now closed. They have ears, but they don't listen. They have eyes, but they refuse to see. If their minds were not closed, they might see with their eyes; they might hear with their ears; they might understand with their minds. Then they might turn back to me and be healed.'

Geneva Bible (1587)
For the heart of this people is waxed fatte, and their eares are dull of hearing, and with their eyes haue they winked, least they shoulde see with their eyes, and heare with their eares, and vnderstand with their heartes, and should returne that I might heale them.

George Lamsa Translation
For the heart of this people is hardened and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and repent before me, and I should forgive them.

Good News Translation
because this people's minds are dull, and they have stopped up their ears and closed their eyes. Otherwise, their eyes would see, their ears would hear, their minds would understand, and they would turn to me, says God, and I would heal them.'"

Lexham English Bible
For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they hear with difficulty, and they have shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them."'

Literal Translation
for the heart of this people was fattened, and they have heard with the ears heavily; and they closed their eyes lest at any time they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, andbe converted, and I should heal them." Isa. 6:9, 10

American Standard Version
For this people's heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them.

Bible in Basic English
For the heart of this people has become fat and their ears are slow in hearing and their eyes are shut; for fear that they might see with their eyes and give hearing with their ears and become wise in their hearts and be turned again to me, so that I might make them well.

Hebrew Names Version
For this people's heart has grown callous. Their ears are dull of hearing. Their eyes they have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their heart, And would turn again, And I would heal them.'

International Standard Version
For this people's heart has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes so that they may never see with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heartand turn and let me heal them."'Isaiah 6:9-10">[fn]

Etheridge Translation
For stupified is the heart of this people, And their hearing they have made heavy, And their eyes have they closed, Lest they should see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their hearts, And be turned unto me, and I should forgive them.

Murdock Translation
For the heart of this people is stupefied, and their hearing they have made heavy, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and be converted unto me, and I should forgive them.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
For the heart of this people is waxed grosse, & their eares are dull of hearing, and their eyes haue they closed: lest they shoulde see with their eyes, and heare with their eares, and vnderstande with their heartes, and shoulde be conuerted, and I shoulde heale them.

English Revised Version
For this people's heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them.

World English Bible
For this people's heart has grown callous. Their ears are dull of hearing. Their eyes they have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their heart, Would turn again, And I would heal them.'

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and with their ears they hear heavily, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Weymouth's New Testament
For this people's mind has grown callous, their hearing has become dull, and their eyes they have closed; to prevent their ever seeing with their eyes, or hearing with their ears, or understanding with their minds, and turning back, so that I might cure them.'

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For the herte of this puple is greetli fattid, and with eeris thei herden heuyli, and thei closiden togider her iyen, lest perauenture thei se with iyen, and with eeris here, and bi herte vndurstonde, and be conuertid, and Y hele hem.

Update Bible Version
For this people's heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest, perhaps they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them."

Webster's Bible Translation
For the heart of this people is become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

New English Translation
For the heart of this people has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them ."'

New King James Version
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.Their ears are hard of hearing,And their eyes they have closed,Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,So that I should heal them." ' Isaiah 6:9, 10 ">[fn]

New Living Translation
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.'

New Life Bible
because these people have hearts that have become fat. They do not hear well with their ears. They have closed their eyes so their eyes do not see and their ears do not hear and their minds do not understand and they do not turn to Me and let Me heal them."'

New Revised Standard
For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn— and I would heal them.'

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For the heart of this people, hath become dense, and, with their ears, heavily, have they heard, and, their eyes, have they closed, - lest once they should see with their eyes, and, with their ears, should hear, and, with their hearts, should understand, and return, - when I would certainly heal them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears have they heard heavily and their eyes they have shut, lest perhaps they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and should be converted: and I should heal them.

Revised Standard Version
For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.'

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
For the hert of this people is wexed grosse and their eares were thycke of hearynge and their eyes have they closed: lest they shuld se with their eyes and heare with their eares and vnderstonde with their hertes and shuld be converted and I shulde heale them.

Young's Literal Translation
for made gross was the heart of this people, and with the ears they heard heavily, and their eyes they did close, lest they may see with the eyes, and with the heart may understand, and be turned back, and I may heal them.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For ye hert of this people is waxed grosse, & they heare hardly wt their eares: & their eyes haue they closed, yt they shulde not once se wt their eyes, & heare wt their eares, & vnderstode i their hertes, and be couerted, yt I mighte heale the.

Mace New Testament (1729)
for the heart of this people is become gross, their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and I should heal them."

Simplified Cowboy Version
For these people's hearts are like a blacksmith's callused hands. They don't hear with their ears. They have sown their own eyes shut. If not, they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, And if all of this happened, I would heal them."'

Contextual Overview

²³ They agreed on a time. When the day arrived, they came back to his home with a number of their friends. Paul talked to them all day, from morning to evening, explaining everything involved in the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them all about Jesus by pointing out what Moses and the prophets had written about him. ²⁴Some of them were persuaded by what he said, but others refused to believe a word of it. When the unbelievers got cantankerous and started bickering with each other, Paul interrupted: "I have just one more thing to say to you. The Holy Spirit sure knew what he was talking about when he addressed our ancestors through Isaiah the prophet: Go to this people and tell them this: "You're going to listen with your ears, but you won't hear a word; You're going to stare with your eyes, but you won't see a thing. These people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won't have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won't have to look, so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them." ²⁸ "You've had your chance. The non-Jewish outsiders are next on the list. And believe me, they're going to receive it with open arms!" Paul lived for two years in his rented house. He welcomed everyone who came to visit. He urgently presented all matters of the kingdom of God. He explained everything about Jesus Christ. His door was always open. ²⁹ Once everyone was accounted for and we realized we had all made it, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. The natives went out of their way to be friendly to us. The day was rainy and cold and we were already soaked to the bone, but they built a huge bonfire and gathered us around it. Paul pitched in and helped. He had gathered up a bundle of sticks, but when he put it on the fire, a venomous snake, roused from its torpor by the heat, struck his hand and held on. Seeing the snake hanging from Paul's hand like that, the natives jumped to the conclusion that he was a murderer getting his just deserts. Paul shook the snake off into the fire, none the worse for wear. They kept expecting him to drop dead, but when it was obvious he wasn't going to, they jumped to the conclusion that he was a god! The head man in that part of the island was Publius. He took us into his home as his guests, drying us out and putting us up in fine style for the next three days. Publius's father was sick at the time, down with a high fever and dysentery. Paul went to the old man's room, and when he laid hands on him and prayed, the man was healed. Word of the healing got around fast, and soon everyone on the island who was sick came and got healed. We spent a wonderful three months on Malta. They treated us royally, took care of all our needs and outfitted us for the rest of the journey. When an Egyptian ship that had wintered there in the harbor prepared to leave for Italy, we got on board. The ship had a carved Gemini for its figurehead: "the Heavenly Twins." We put in at Syracuse for three days and then went up the coast to Rhegium. Two days later, with the wind out of the south, we sailed into the Bay of Naples. We found Christian friends there and stayed with them for a week. And then we came to Rome. Friends in Rome heard we were on the way and came out to meet us. One group got as far as Appian Court; another group met us at Three Taverns—emotion-packed meetings, as you can well imagine. Paul, brimming over with praise, led us in prayers of thanksgiving. When we actually entered Rome, they let Paul live in his own private quarters with a soldier who had been assigned to guard him. Three days later, Paul called the Jewish leaders together for a meeting at his house. He said, "The Jews in Jerusalem arrested me on trumped-up charges, and I was taken into custody by the Romans. I assure you that I did absolutely nothing against Jewish laws or Jewish customs. After the Romans investigated the charges and found there was nothing to them, they wanted to set me free, but the Jews objected so fiercely that I was forced to appeal to Caesar. I did this not to accuse them of any wrongdoing or to get our people in trouble with Rome. We've had enough trouble through the years that way. I did it for Israel. I asked you to come and listen to me today to make it clear that I'm on Israel's side, not against her. I'm a hostage here for hope, not doom." They said, "Nobody wrote warning us about you. And no one has shown up saying anything bad about you. But we would like very much to hear more. The only thing we know about this Christian sect is that nobody seems to have anything good to say about it." They agreed on a time. When the day arrived, they came back to his home with a number of their friends. Paul talked to them all day, from morning to evening, explaining everything involved in the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them all about Jesus by pointing out what Moses and the prophets had written about him. Some of them were persuaded by what he said, but others refused to believe a word of it. When the unbelievers got cantankerous and started bickering with each other, Paul interrupted: "I have just one more thing to say to you. The Holy Spirit sure knew what he was talking about when he addressed our ancestors through Isaiah the prophet: Go to this people and tell them this: "You're going to listen with your ears, but you won't hear a word; You're going to stare with your eyes, but you won't see a thing. These people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won't have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won't have to look, so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them." "You've had your chance. The non-Jewish outsiders are next on the list. And believe me, they're going to receive it with open arms!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Exodus 8:32 - General Leviticus 7:23 - fat Deuteronomy 29:4 - General Deuteronomy 32:15 - waxen fat Psalms 17:10 - They are Psalms 69:23 - Their eyes Psalms 119:70 - heart is as fat Proverbs 17:16 - seeing Isaiah 6:9 - Hear ye Isaiah 6:10 - lest Isaiah 19:22 - they shall Isaiah 26:11 - will Isaiah 29:10 - the Lord Isaiah 29:14 - for the wisdom Jeremiah 36:3 - that I Ezekiel 12:2 - which Zechariah 7:12 - lest Matthew 18:3 - Except Mark 8:18 - see Luke 8:10 - that seeing Acts 3:19 - be 2 Corinthians 3:14 - their Hebrews 5:11 - dull

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For the heart of this people is waxed gross,.... Or fat; stupefied with notions of carnal and temporal things, and become hardened against, and unsusceptible of, divine and spiritual things:

and their ears are dull of hearing; the Gospel, and its joyful sound; to which they stop their cars, as the deaf adder to the voice of the charmer:

and their eyes have they closed; and wilfully shut, against all evidence from facts, miracles, prophecies, and preaching:

lest they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears,

and understand with [their] heart, and should be converted; that is, see the evidence of miracles, take in the truth of doctrine, understand the meaning of prophecy, and so be turned from darkness, ignorance, and unbelief, to light, knowledge, and faith:

and I should heal them; or "have mercy on them", as the Ethiopic version renders it; that is, forgive their sins: hearing the Gospel preached, is the ordinary means of understanding spiritual things; and the understanding being enlightened through the ministry of the word, by the Spirit of God, whereby the sinner sees his lost state by nature, his impurity and impotency, the danger he is in, and the destruction that is imminent on him, and he is liable to, and also his need of Christ, and salvation by him; this issues in conversion, in the turning of a man from the evil of his ways, to believe in Christ, walk on in him, and worthy of him; when he is healed of the diseases of his soul, which are many, are natural, and hereditary, mortal and incurable, but by Christ the great physician; by whose stripes, wounds, and blood, there is healing, that is, pardon; for healing diseases, and pardoning iniquities, are one and the same; see Psalms 103:3; and at conversion, when a soul is enlightened, and made sensible of the evil of sin, and that there is no cure of this disease, by anything that he or any creature can do, or prescribe for him, but only by the blood of Christ; a discovery of pardoning grace is made unto him; and he is made whole, and cured of every disease that attended him; from whence spring joy, peace, and comfort to him:, but when through hearing the word, the understanding is not enlightened, and conversion does not follow upon it, there is no healing of the disease of sin, no pardon applied; and consequently such must be in a most deplorable and miserable condition, as all ignorant hearers and despisers of the Gospel are; Mt 13:15;

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Saying ... - See this passage explained in the Matthew 13:14 note, and John 12:39-40 notes.