Deuteronomy 29:4

29:4 But to this very day the Lord has not given you an understanding mind, perceptive eyes, or discerning ears! ¹ 

Isaiah 6:9

6:9 He said, “Go and tell these people:

‘Listen continually, but don’t understand!

Look continually, but don’t perceive!’

Jeremiah 5:21

5:21 Tell them: ‘Hear this,

you foolish people who have no understanding,

who have eyes but do not discern,

who have ears but do not perceive: ² 

Ezekiel 12:2

12:2 “Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house. ³  They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear, ⁴  because they are a rebellious house.

Mark 4:11-12

4:11 He said to them, “The secret ⁵  of the kingdom of God has been given ⁶  to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables,

4:12 so that although they look they may look but not see,

and although they hear they may hear but not understand,

so they may not repent and be forgiven.” ⁷ 

Luke 8:10

8:10 He ⁸  said, “You have been given ⁹  the opportunity to know ¹⁰  the secrets ¹¹  of the kingdom of God, ¹²  but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand. ¹³ 

Acts 28:26

28:26 when he said,

‘Go to this people and say,

“You will keep on hearing, ¹⁴  but will never understand,

and you will keep on looking, ¹⁵  but will never perceive.

¹ tn Heb “a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear” (NASB similar); NAB, NRSV “a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear.”

² tn Heb “they have eyes but they do not see, they have ears but they do not hear.”

³ sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).

⁴ sn This verse is very similar to Isa 6:9-10.

⁵ tn Grk “the mystery.”

⁶ tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

⁷ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁹ tn This is an example of a so-called “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

¹⁰ tn Grk “it has been given to you to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.

¹¹ tn Grk “the mysteries.”

¹² sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

¹³ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

¹⁴ tn Grk “you will hear with hearing” (an idiom).

¹⁵ tn Or “seeing”; Grk “you will look by looking” (an idiom).