Mark 4:12

New Catholic Bible

¹²so that

‘they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but fail to understand,
lest they be converted and be forgiven.’ ”^[a]

Mark 4:12 The citation is from Isa 6:9-10. Acts (28:26-27) and Romans (11:7-16, 29-32) cite the same passage of Isaiah to show that the rejection by the people of the Covenant had been foretold and that God’s plan cannot be checkmated by the defection of human beings. It is not that God wants them to reject the word. They do that on their own because they do not want to receive God’s forgiveness.

Mark 4:12

New International Version

¹²so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’^[a]”^(A)

¹²so that

^(A)‘Seeing they may see and not perceive,
And hearing they may hear and not understand;
Lest they should turn,
And their sins be forgiven them.’ ”

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

New International Version (NIV)