Isaiah 42:23 · Bible study
Isaiah 42:23 Commentary: Who Will Listen? A Call or a Lament?
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Isaiah 42:23 asks who will repent after judgment. Scholars debate whether this is a call or a lament. Original grammar suggests a heartfelt wish.
Research Summary
- Meaning: A question expecting no answer, Israel has not responded to judgment, yet the grammar suggests a divine wish that someone would.
- Key words: azan (Hiphil, to give ear), qashav (Hiphil, to pay attention), shama (Qal, to listen), le'achor (to afterwards / for the time to come).
- Main debate: Does this verse express a genuine call for repentance or a resigned lament over Israel’s hardness? The grammar leaves room for both.
- Theological theme: The patient, wounded love of God who continues to call despite repeated rejection. Judgment serves as a wake-up call, not a final word.
- Best use: A piercing text for self-examination, useful in seasons of crisis to ask whether we are hearing the lessons God is teaching.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Who among you will pay attention to this? Who will listen and obey hereafter?
WEB World English Bible 2000
Who is there among you who will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
KJV King James Version 1769
Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Who is there among you that will give ear to this? that will hearken and hear for the time to come?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Who among you giveth ear to this? Attendeth, and heareth afterwards.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Who among you will give ear to this, [who] will hearken and hear what is to come?
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Who is there among you that will give ear to this, that will attend and hearken for times to come?
Translations in other languages (10 available)
¿ Quién de vosotros oirá esto? ¿ quién atenderá y escuchará en orden al porvernir?
Quem dentre vós dá ouvidos a isto? Quem presta atenção e ouve o que há de ser no futuro?
Qui parmi vous prêtera l’ oreille à ces choses?
Wer ist unter euch, der solches zu Ohren nehme, der aufmerke und höre, was hernach kommt?
Wie onder ulieden neemt zulks ter oren? Wie merkt op en hoort, wat hierna zijn zal?
Chi di voi presterà orecchio a questo? Chi starà attento e ascolterà in avvenire?
Któż to z was w uszy przyjmuje? kto zrozumiewa, aby czulszym był napotem?
Кто из вас приклонил к этому ухо, вникнул и выслушал это для будущего?
你們中間 誰 肯側耳聽 此，誰肯留 心而聽，以防將來呢？
Who is there among you who will give ear to this? who will give attention to it for the time to come?
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Isaiah 42:23
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this question confronts Israel with their failure to respond to God's judgments. Barnes notes that the question implies both what ought to happen (that they should learn from punishment) and what will not happen: the people are so hardened that they will not. Calvin calls their deafness 'stupidity' and says they refuse to be taught even when warned. Keil and Delitzsch offer a nuance: the grammar of the Hiphil imperfect does not function as a negative assertion ('no one does this') but as a wish: 'O that one would.' This softens the pronouncement into a lament, God longs for someone to hear. The Cambridge Bible labels the verse 'an expostulation with Israel for its insensibility.' Despite differences in tone, all see the question as exposing the gap between God's patient call and Israel's ongoing refusal.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Genuine call for repentance: Barnes and JFB emphasize the 'ought' implied — judgments are meant to teach, and the question is an invitation to learn.
- Resigned lament: Calvin and Gill stress the people's stupidity and predict that no one will respond; the question highlights their hardness.
- Wish or longing: Keil and Delitzsch argue the Hiphil imperfect functions as a wish ('O that one would') — a divine yearning somewhere between call and lament.
What is clear: The verse expresses God's desire for his people to respond to his discipline and warns that continued deafness leads to further judgment.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the question (call vs. lament) | The verse confronts Israel’s failure to respond to God’s judgments in the past. | Some read it as a genuine call for repentance (Barnes, JFB), others as a resigned lament that no one will respond (Calvin, Gill). Keil and Delitzsch see it as a wish, somewhere between the two. |
| Meaning of 'this' (zot) in v. 23 | It refers to the preceding description of judgment and plunder (vv. 18, 22). | Whether it refers primarily to the judgment just described (the exile) or to the broader law and calling of the servant is debated. The immediate context favors the judgment. |
| Identity of the 'you' | The audience is the nation of Israel, especially those in exile or facing judgment. | Some limit it to the wicked within Israel (Matthew Henry), while others see it as the whole servant-nation that has become blind and deaf (Cambridge Bible). |
| Purpose of the question | To provoke self-examination and recognition of sin. | Does the question aim to produce repentance (a hope for change) or to pronounce a verdict of irreversible hardness? The grammar allows both possibilities. |
| Meaning of 'for the time to come' (le'achor) | It indicates a future orientation, either later in life or after the exile. | Some read it as 'afterward' in time (the next generation), others as 'for the future' (a change of direction now with lasting effect). |
Historical & Cultural Context
Isaiah 42:23 sits within a section (vv. 18, 25) that describes the servant of the Lord as both blind and deaf. This servant is Israel, called to be a light to the nations but instead found 'robbed and plundered' (v. 22). The prophet has just celebrated God's determination to magnify the law and make it honorable (v. 21). Yet the people refuse to walk in God's ways. Now, after describing the devastation of exile as already present, the question breaks in: 'Who among you will give ear to this?'
Culturally, this question would have landed with force among a people who prided themselves on their covenant status. The phrase 'for the time to come' (Hebrew le'achor, literally 'to afterwards') looks both backward and forward, backward to the lessons of recent judgment, forward to a future generation that might choose differently. The prophet, speaking as if the exile has already happened, presses his hearers to evaluate their own response. Were they listening when the law was read? Will they listen now?
The verse functions as the hinge between indictment and explanation. The next line answers the question: it was Yahweh who gave Jacob to the plunderers, because 'we have sinned' (v. 24). This self-identification with the people's guilt, as Keil and Delitzsch note, shows the prophet's solidarity with the nation's failure. The question thus carries both a note of hope, someone might still hear, and a heavy recognition that no one has.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Masoretic Text reads uniformly across manuscripts. Keil and Delitzsch discuss a related accentuation issue in verse 24 (the placement of the athnach under Yahweh and the relative use of zu), but that does not affect the wording of verse 23 itself. The verse is textually stable.
Reception History
In Jewish tradition, this verse has been read as part of God’s plea through the prophets, a call to heed the lessons of history. The phrase 'for the time to come' echoes Deuteronomy 32:29 ('Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end'), linking the verse to the idea of covenant renewal after judgment. Christian interpreters have used the verse to warn against hardening one’s heart during divine discipline. The question form has made it a favorite for personal examination: 'Who among you will listen?' Early church writers saw in the verse a pattern of God’s patience despite Israel’s repeated failure, a theme taken up by the Reformers as a caution against spiritual deafness. Its placement within the Servant Songs also drew attention to the contrast between Israel’s actual condition and its ideal calling, a contrast that later readers applied to themselves.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God’s judgment is a call to listen. The devastation of exile is not merely punitive; it is meant to open ears. The question demands a response to what has already happened.
- The question exposes human hardness. Barnes and Calvin agree: the implied answer is silence. The people have not taken the warning to heart. The verdict is delivered as a question, making it unbearable.
- The lament reveals God’s heart. Keil and Delitzsch show that the Hebrew construction functions as a wish, God wants someone to hear. Beneath the judgment is divine longing.
Five-point outline
- The harsh reality of Israel’s blindness and deafness (vv. 18, 20).
- The question as a test of response (v. 23).
- The grammar of hope: a wish, not a verdict (Keil and Delitzsch on the Hiphil).
- The invitation to 'hear for the time to come', future-oriented repentance.
- The warning: continued deafness leads to more judgment (v. 25).
Illustration hooks
- A child repeatedly warned about a hot stove who touches it anyway, then asks why it hurts. The parent’s question 'Who will listen?' carries both frustration and love.
- A driver who ignores warning lights on the dashboard until the engine seizes. The maker’s manual is not an enemy, it’s a gift.
- A community that experiences a crisis (flood, fire, economic collapse) but returns to the same patterns afterward. The tragedy of a lesson not learned.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does God keep calling when people won’t listen? Does he just give up?
- How do I know if I am truly hearing God and not just hearing words?
- What does it mean to hear 'for the time to come', is that about future generations or our own future choices?
Leading a Discussion
This verse appears in a section where God confronts Israel’s blind and deaf response to his discipline. The question 'Who will give ear to this?' is not just rhetorical, it is a window into God’s heart. As you work through these questions, notice how the grammar (Hiphil imperfect) can express either a call or a wish. Let the tension stand: God desires response, yet he knows our resistance.
Discussion questions
- Read Isaiah 42:23 out loud. What is the emotional tone of this question: is it angry, sad, pleading, resigned? Why?
- Look at verses 18, 22. What has God done to get his people’s attention? What kind of response does he expect?
- The Hebrew word for 'give ear' (azan) is in the Hiphil causative form. What does that add to the meaning? Can hearing be commanded?
- Keil and Delitzsch argue that the question functions as a wish, not a negative statement. How does that change your understanding of God’s attitude toward his people?
- What does 'for the time to come' (le’achor) mean in practical terms? How do we listen now with the future in mind?
- Verse 24 says 'we have sinned', the prophet includes himself. Why does that matter? How can a leader confess alongside the people?
- Where in your own life is God asking, 'Who will listen to this?' What might change if you answered, 'I will'?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Leviticus 26:40 | “‘If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me; and also that because they walked contrary to me, |
| Leviticus 26:42 | then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham; and I will remember the land. |
| Deuteronomy 4:29 | But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you will find him when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. |
| Deuteronomy 4:31 | For Yahweh your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them. |
| Deuteronomy 32:29 | Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end! |
| Proverbs 1:22 | “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery, and fools hate knowledge? |
| Proverbs 1:23 | Turn at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make known my words to you. |
| Isaiah 1:18 | “Come now, and let’s reason together,” says Yahweh: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes sees the question as carrying two implications at once: God's judgments ought to drive the nation to repent, yet the people are so hardened that they will not listen. The calamities are a loud call to turn back, but they fall on ears too corrupt to hear.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin stresses that the Jews' refusal to learn is especially blameworthy because they, as God's people, should have known better. He insists God sends punishments not for revenge but as a warning, so that we may repent and be on guard going forward.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible Schools commentary argues that the same "Servant of the Lord" refers to Israel in two different aspects: its ideal calling and its actual, blind and deaf condition. The contrast is not between a false and true servant or between a nation and an individual, but between what Israel was meant to be and what it had become. Israel failed to understand its own history as God's visitation.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes press a pointed question: who will truly listen now? The distinctive call is to take heed today so that you may hear and understand the outcome later. Hearing is not enough; present obedience prepares for future revelation.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill observes that the prophecy is met with total indifference from its hearers. Neither God's spoken word nor the judgment itself prompts repentance. He links this ongoing spiritual deafness to the veil over Israel's heart, which will only be removed when they finally turn to the Lord.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB treats the verse as a direct call to learn from God's past judgments and let them shape future obedience. The point is not simply to recall what God has done, but to let those events produce a lasting change in conduct toward Him.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch read the question as a passionate wish that someone would hear, not a statement that no one does. They also noted that the prophet identifies himself with the exiles in confession. The war-fury poured out on Israel accomplished nothing: it did not bring them to understanding.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange stresses that the Servant’s gentleness is not weakness but the voluntary restraint of One who could cry out and break the bruised reed. This distinction, he argues, proves the Servant is the Messiah, not Israel, for Israel never possessed such power over the nations to lay aside.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry shifts from comforting the faithful to confronting the unbelieving. He identifies these blind and deaf Israelites as a type of those who rejected Christ, comparing them to the evil figs of Jeremiah who were destined for ruin and remain scattered to this day.