28:27a–f

The pronoun changes from “you” in 28:26 to “they” in 28:27, because in 28:26 God commanded Isaiah to say those words to the Jewish people but in 28:27 God talked about them.

28:27a

The command to speak ended at 28:26c. Now God described the people. In some languages, it is more natural to indicate clearly the change from command to description. For example:

⌊The Holy Spirit continued⌋
-or-

⌊The Holy Spirit said further⌋

For: This conjunction introduces the reason for the people not understanding what they see and hear. For example:

because (Good News Translation)

If it is not natural in your language to start a sentence with For, you may want to:

• Continue the sentence from 28:26 as the Good News Translation does.

• Add a statement that refers to 28:26 in a general way. For example:

⌊These things are true⌋ because
-or-

⌊They are like that⌋ because

• Allow the context to imply the connection and do not translate the conjunction.

this people’s heart has grown callous: This clause is a metaphor. Their heart being callous indicates that they were slow to learn or did not want to understand. They were that way because they were unwilling to believe what God told them. Here is another way to translate this:

For the hearts of these people are hardened (New Living Translation (2004))

In some languages a literal translation would not have that meaning. If so, you may want to translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:

the heart of this people has become dull (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
the heart of this people has become closed
-or-
these people have become stubborn (New Century Version)
-or-
this people’s minds are dull (Good News Translation)

this people’s heart: The word heart refers figuratively to the center and source of inner life, so the word refers to thinking, feeling, and the will.

In some languages a literal translation would not refer to this inner life. If that is true in your language, you may want to use the word or phrase that has the right meaning. For example:

this people’s insides
-or-
this people
-or-
this people’s minds and will

28:27b

they hardly hear with their ears: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hardly hear means “hear with difficulty.” Here the Greek phrase indicates that they refuse to listen. It does not indicate that they are partly deaf. Other ways to translate this clause are:

they refuse to listen
-or-
they have plugged/covered their ears

The phrase with their ears is already included in the meaning of the verb hear. In some languages it may be more natural not to translate the phrase with their ears (as in the first example above).

28:27c

they have closed their eyes: This clause indicates that they refused to see or understand. Other ways to translate this clause are:

they refuse to see
-or-
they have closed their eyes ⌊to the truth⌋
-or-
they have closed their eyes ⌊to what is true⌋

28:27d–f

Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them: The Greek word the Berean Standard Bible translates as Otherwise expresses negative purpose: “in order not to.” It indicates that the deeds in 28:27a–c were done in order to have the things in 28:27d–f not happen. These people did not want to see, hear, understand or repent. Some examples are:

to avoid using their eyes to see… (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-

so that they might not look with their eyes… (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-

in order to not look…

28:27d

see with their eyes: The verb see refers to more than just physical seeing, it also refers to understanding here.

In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer only to physical seeing. If so, you may want to make the meaning of understanding clear. Some examples are:

see ⌊and understand⌋
-or-
perceive with their eyes (Revised Standard Version)

The phrase with their eyes is already included in the meaning of the verb see. In some languages it is more natural not to translate the phrase with their eyes (as in the first example above).

hear with their ears: The phrase with their ears is already included in the meaning of the verb hear. In some languages it is more natural not to translate the phrase with their ears.

28:27e

understand with their hearts: In Greek culture, the “heart” was the center and source of inner life, so the word refers to thinking, feeling, and the will. So the phrase understand with their hearts refers to truly understanding something. Some examples are:

their mind understand (Revised English Bible)
-or-
truly understand
-or-
understand completely/deeply

The things to be understood are not stated. Here Paul probably used this message from God to refer to Jesus being the savior. In some languages an object for the verb understand is needed. If so, two examples are:

understand with their hearts ⌊what I do and say⌋
-or-
understand with their hearts ⌊what I am doing in front of them⌋

turn: This verb refers figuratively to repenting. Use a term for repenting that is natural in your language. Some examples are:

repent
-or-
turn to me (Good News Translation)
-or-
changing their ways (New Jerusalem Bible)

General Comment on 28:27a–e

In 28:27a–c, the order is heart, ears, eyes. In 28:27d–e, the order is eyes, ears, heart. This is a Hebrew (and Greek) poetic structure. In some languages it is more natural to use the same order in both places. For example:

For this people’s heart has become callused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might understand with their hearts, hear with their ears, see with their eyes and turn, and I would heal them.

28:27f

I would heal them: This clause refers figuratively to God forgiving their sins and changing them from sinning to following Him. This clause also had not actually happened, similar to 13:15d–e. They had not repented, so God had not healed them.

In some languages a literal translation would wrongly refer only to healing sicknesses. If so, you may want to:

• Include some implied information. For example:

I would heal them ⌊spiritually⌋
-or-
I would heal their ⌊evil ways⌋
-or-
I would save them ⌊from sinning⌋

• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:

I would forgive them and change how they think

General Comment on 28:26a–27f

28:26a–27f is a quote from Isaiah 6:9–10. If you footnote the location of quotes from the Old Testament, you may want to do so here.

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