Isaiah 44:18
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18 They do not know, nor do they comprehend, for their eyes are shut, so that they cannot see, and their minds as well, so that they cannot understand.(A)
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2 Corinthians 4:3-4
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3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.(A) 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing clearly the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.(B)
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Isaiah 6:9-10
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9 And he said, “Go and say to this people:
‘Keep listening, but do not comprehend;
keep looking, but do not understand.’(A)
10 Make the mind of this people dull,
and stop their ears,
and shut their eyes,
so that they may not look with their eyes
and listen with their ears
and comprehend with their minds
and turn and be healed.”(B)
John 12:39-40
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39 And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
so that they might not look with their eyes
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.”(A)
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
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9 The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders,(A) 10 and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.(B) 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false,(C) 12 so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned.(D)
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Jeremiah 5:21
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21 Hear this, O foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes but do not see,
who have ears but do not hear.(A)
Psalm 81:12
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12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.(A)
Proverbs 2:5-9
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5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.(A)
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;(B)
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly,(C)
8 guarding the paths of justice
and preserving the way of his faithful ones.(D)
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path,(E)
Matthew 13:14-15
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14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
‘You will indeed listen but never understand,
and you will indeed look but never perceive.(A)
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.’(B)
Romans 1:21-23
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21 for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless hearts were darkened.(A) 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.(B)
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John 5:44
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44 How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God?[a](A)
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- 5.44 Other manuscripts read the Only One
John 8:43
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43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word.
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Isaiah 29:10
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10 For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep;
he has closed your eyes (the prophets)
and covered your heads (the seers).(A)
Romans 1:28
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28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind and to do things that should not be done.(A)
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Daniel 12:10
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10 Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked shall continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.(A)
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Romans 11:8-10
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8 as it is written,
“God gave them a sluggish spirit,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”(A)
9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;(B)
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and keep their backs forever bent.”
Proverbs 28:5
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5 The evil do not understand justice,
but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.(A)
Isaiah 1:3
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3 The ox knows its owner
and the donkey its master’s crib,
but Israel does not know;
my people do not understand.(A)
Jeremiah 10:14
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14 Everyone is stupid and without knowledge;
goldsmiths are all put to shame by their idols,
for their images are false,
and there is no breath in them.(A)
Isaiah 44:20
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20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded mind has led him astray, and he cannot save himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a fraud?”(A)
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Acts 14:16
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16 In past generations he allowed all peoples to follow their own ways,(A)
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Isaiah 45:20
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Idols Cannot Save Babylon
20 Assemble yourselves and come together;
draw near, you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge—
those who carry about their wooden idols
and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.(A)
Matthew 12:34
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34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.(A)
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Hosea 14:9
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9 Those who are wise understand these things;
those who are discerning know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.(A)
Jeremiah 10:8
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.