Acts 28:25-27

28:25 So they began to leave, ¹  unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors ²  through the prophet Isaiah 28:26 when he said,

‘Go to this people and say,

“You will keep on hearing, ³  but will never understand,

and you will keep on looking, ⁴  but will never perceive.

28:27 For the heart of this people has become dull, ⁵ 

and their ears are hard of hearing, ⁶ 

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, ⁷  and I would heal them.”’ ⁸ 

[28:25]  ¹ tn The imperfect verb ἀπελύοντο (apeluonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[28:25]  ² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[28:26]  ³ tn Grk “you will hear with hearing” (an idiom).

[28:26]  ⁴ tn Or “seeing”; Grk “you will look by looking” (an idiom).

[28:27]  ⁵ tn Or “insensitive.”

[28:27]  ⁶ tn Grk “they hear heavily with their ears” (an idiom for slow comprehension).

[28:27]  ⁷ sn Note how the failure to respond to the message of the gospel is seen as a failure to turn.

[28:27]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10.