“ Son of man, you are living among people who refuse to obey me. They have eyes that can see. But they do not really see. They have ears that can hear. But they do not really hear. They refuse to obey me.

“人子啊，你住在悖逆的家中。他们有眼睛看不见，有耳朵听不见，因为他们是悖逆之家。

“人子啊，你住在悖逆之家中；他们有眼可看却看不见，有耳可听却听不到，因为他们是悖逆之家。

“人子啊，你住在悖逆之家中；他们有眼可看却看不见，有耳可听却听不到，因为他们是悖逆之家。

“人子啊，你住在叛逆的人当中。他们有眼睛却视而不见，有耳朵却听而不闻，因为他们是叛逆的人。

“人子啊！你是住在叛逆的民族之中；他们有眼睛可以看，却看不见；他们有耳朵可以听，却听不见，因为他们是叛逆的民族。

「人子啊，你住在悖逆的家中。他們有眼睛看不見，有耳朵聽不見，因為他們是悖逆之家。

「人子啊，你住在悖逆之家中；他們有眼可看卻看不見，有耳可聽卻聽不到，因為他們是悖逆之家。

「人子啊，你住在悖逆之家中；他們有眼可看卻看不見，有耳可聽卻聽不到，因為他們是悖逆之家。

「人子啊，你住在叛逆的人當中。他們有眼睛卻視而不見，有耳朵卻聽而不聞，因為他們是叛逆的人。

“人子啊！你是住在叛逆的民族之中；他們有眼睛可以看，卻看不見；他們有耳朵可以聽，卻聽不見，因為他們是叛逆的民族。

『人子啊，你住在叛逆之家中間；他們有眼睛可以看，卻不看，有耳朵可以聽，卻不聽，因為他們是叛逆之家。

人子歟、爾居悖逆之家、彼有目視而不見、有耳聽而不聞、以其為悖逆之家也、

人子、爾居違逆者中、彼有目視而不明、有耳聽而不聰、

人子、爾居悖逆之族中、彼有目可見而不見、有耳可聽而不聽、因屬悖逆之族、○

“ Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.

“ Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house.

“ 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.

“ Son of man, you are living among 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.

“ Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house.

“ Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house.

Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of the rebellious house, that have eyes to see, and see not, that have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a rebellious house.

“ Son of man, you are living among 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.

Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they[ are] a rebellious house.

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

“ Son of man, you dwell in the middle of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see, and don’t see, who have ears to hear, and don’t hear; for they are a rebellious house.

How often they refused to obey him in the desert! How often they caused him sorrow in that dry and empty land!

In that way,“‘ They will see but never know what they are seeing. They will hear but never understand. Otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’ ”( Isaiah 6:9, 10)

“ The Lord has blinded their eyes. He has closed their minds. So they can’t see with their eyes. They can’t understand with their minds. They can’t turn to the Lord. If they could, he would heal them.”( Isaiah 6:10)

They might listen, or they might not. After all, they refuse to obey me. But whether they listen or not, they will know that a prophet was among them.Son of man, do not be afraid of them or of what they say. Do not be afraid, even if thorns and bushes are all around you. Do not be afraid, even if you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say. Do not be terrified by them. They always refuse to obey me.You must give them my message. They might listen, or they might not. After all, they refuse to obey me.Son of man, listen to what I tell you. Do not be like those who refuse to obey me. Open your mouth. Eat what I give you.”

Here is why I use stories when I speak to the people. I say,“ They look, but they don’t really see. They listen, but they don’t really hear or understand.In them the words of the prophet Isaiah come true. He said,“‘ You will hear but never understand. You will see but never know what you are seeing.

So he said,“ Go and speak to these people. Tell them,“‘ You will hear but never understand. You will see but never know what you are seeing.’Make the hearts of these people stubborn. Plug up their ears. Close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes. They might hear with their ears. They might understand with their hearts. And they might turn to me and be healed.”

Jesus said,“ I have come into this world to judge it. I have come so that people who are blind will see. I have come so that people who can see will become blind.”Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this. They asked,“ What? Are we blind too?”Jesus said,“ If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, you remain guilty.

He said,“ Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel. That nation has refused to obey me. They have turned against me. They and their people of long ago have been against me to this day.

He said,“ You have been given the chance to understand the secrets of God’s kingdom. But to outsiders I speak by using stories. In that way,“‘ They see, but they will not know what they are seeing. They hear, but they will not understand what they are hearing.’( Isaiah 6:9)

‘ Listen to this, you foolish people, who do not have any sense. You have eyes, but you do not see. You have ears, but you do not hear.

Your rulers refuse to obey the Lord. They join forces with robbers. All of them love to accept money from those who want special favors. They are always looking for gifts from other people. They don’t stand up in court for children whose fathers have died. They don’t do it for widows either.

I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth. Then you will be silent. You will not be able to correct them. That’s because they always refuse to obey me.But later I will speak to you. I will open your mouth. Then you will tell them,‘ Here is what the Lord and King says.’ Those who listen will listen. And those who refuse to listen will refuse. They always refuse to obey me.

So people who are dying will be fooled by this evil. These people are dying because they refuse to love the truth. The truth would save them.So God will fool them completely. Then they will believe the lie.

But their minds were made stubborn. To this day, the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. The veil has not been removed. Only faith in Christ can take it away.

Your people refuse to obey me. So tell them a story. Say to them,‘ The Lord and King told me,“‘ “Put a cooking pot on the fire. Pour water into it.

I wish my head were a spring of water! I wish my eyes were a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for my people who have been killed.I wish I had somewhere to go in the desert where a traveler could stay! Then I could leave my people. I could get away from them. All of them commit adultery by worshiping other gods. They aren’t faithful to the Lord.“ They get ready to use their tongues like bows,” announces the Lord.“ Their mouths shoot out lies like arrows. They tell lies to gain power in the land. They go from one sin to another. They do not pay any attention to me.Be on guard against your friends. Do not trust the members of your own family. Every one of them cheats. Every friend tells lies.One friend cheats another. No one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues how to lie. They wear themselves out sinning.Jeremiah, you live among people who tell lies. When they lie, they refuse to pay any attention to me,” announces the Lord.

But you people have stubborn hearts. You refuse to obey me. You have turned away from me. You have gone astray.

It will surround them like people who guard a field. Judah has refused to obey me,’ ” announces the Lord.

“ These people refuse to obey me. Ask them,‘ Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them,‘ Nebuchadnezzar went to Jerusalem. He was the king of Babylon. He carried off King Jehoiachin and the nobles. He brought them back with him to the city of Babylon.

People of Jerusalem, be shocked and amazed. Make yourselves blind so you can’t see anything. Get drunk, but not from wine. Be unsteady on your feet, but not because of beer.The Lord has made you fall into a deep sleep. He has closed the eyes of your prophets. He has covered the heads of your seers so they can’t see.For you, this whole vision is like words that are sealed up in a scroll. Suppose you give it to someone who can read. And suppose you say,“ Please read this for us.” Then they’ll answer,“ I can’t. It’s sealed up.”Or suppose you give the scroll to someone who can’t read. And suppose you say,“ Please read this for us.” Then they’ll answer,“ I don’t know how to read.”

Here is something you must remember. Never forget it. You made the Lord your God angry in the desert. You refused to obey him from the day you left Egypt until you arrived here.

But to this day the Lord hasn’t given you a mind that understands. He hasn’t given you eyes that see. He hasn’t given you ears that hear.

I will make you very brave. So do not be afraid of them. Do not let them terrify you, even though they refuse to obey me.”

What should we say then? The people of Israel did not receive what they wanted so badly. Those Israelites who were chosen did receive it. But the rest of the people were made stubborn.It is written,“ God made it hard for them to understand. He gave them eyes that could not see. He gave them ears that could not hear. And they are still like that today.”( Deuteronomy 29:4; Isaiah 29:10)

Jesus knew what they were saying. So he asked them,“ Why are you talking about having no bread? Why can’t you see or understand? Are you stubborn?Do you have eyes and still don’t see? Do you have ears and still don’t hear? And don’t you remember?

I know how you refuse to obey the Lord. I know how stubborn you are. You have refused to obey him while I’ve been living among you. So you will certainly refuse to obey him after I’m dead!

“ How terrible it will be for these stubborn children of mine!” announces the Lord.“ How terrible for those who carry out plans that did not come from me! Their agreement with Egypt did not come from my Spirit. So they pile up one sin on top of another.

All day long I have held out my hands to welcome a stubborn nation. They lead sinful lives. They go where their evil thoughts take them.

We have sinned and done what is wrong. We have been evil. We have refused to obey you. We have turned away from your commands and laws.We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets. They spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our people of long ago. They also brought your message to all our people in the land.“ Lord, you always do what is right. But we are covered with shame today. We are the people of Judah and Jerusalem. All of us are Israelites, no matter where we live. We are now living in many countries. You scattered us among the nations because we weren’t faithful to you.Lord, we are covered with shame. So are our kings and princes, and our people of long ago. We have sinned against you.You are the Lord our God. You show us your tender love. You forgive us. But we have turned against you.

Suppose our good news is covered with a veil. Then it is veiled to those who are dying.The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They can’t see the light of the good news that makes Christ’s glory clear. Christ is the likeness of God.

Speak to the people of Israel. They refuse to obey me. Tell them,‘ Here is what the Lord and King says.“ People of Israel, I have had enough of your evil practices. I hate them.

You have been refusing to obey the Lord as long as I’ve known you.

The people of Israel serve me. But who is more blind than they are? Who is more deaf than the messengers I send? Who is more blind than the one who has promised to be faithful to me? Who is more blind than the servant of the Lord?Israel, you have seen many things. But you do not pay any attention to me. Your ears are open. But you do not listen to anything I say.”

“‘ Go to your people. Say to them,“ You will hear but never understand. You will see but never know what you are seeing.”These people’s hearts have become stubborn. They can barely hear with their ears. They have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes. They might hear with their ears. They might understand with their hearts. They might turn, and then I would heal them.’( Isaiah 6:9, 10)

“ You stubborn people! You won’t obey! You won’t listen! You are just like your people of long ago! You always oppose the Holy Spirit!Was there ever a prophet your people didn’t try to hurt? They even killed those who told about the coming of the Blameless One. And now you have handed him over to his enemies. You have murdered him.

That’s because these people of Judah refuse to obey me. They are children who tell lies. They will not listen to what I want to teach them.

They can’t understand the truth. They are separated from the life of God. That’s because they don’t know him. And they don’t know him because their hearts are stubborn.