Johannes 12:40

Svenska Bibel

»Han har förblindat deras ögon och förstockat deras hjärtan, så att de icke kunna se med sina ögon eller förstå med sina hjärtan och omvända sig och bliva helade av mig.»

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

hath: John 9:39, 1 Kings 22:20, Isaiah 29:10, Ezekiel 14:9, Matthew 13:13-15, Matthew 15:14, Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10, Acts 28:26, Romans 11:8-11

hardened: Exodus 4:21, Exodus 7:3, Exodus 7:13, Exodus 14:4, Exodus 14:8, Exodus 14:17, Joshua 11:20, Romans 9:18, Romans 11:7, *marg.

that they: Deuteronomy 29:4, Psalms 135:10-18, Isaiah 26:11, Isaiah 42:19, Isaiah 42:20, Jeremiah 5:21, Ezekiel 12:2, Mark 8:17, Mark 8:18

and be: Acts 3:19, Acts 15:3, James 5:19, James 5:20

heal: Psalms 6:2, Psalms 41:4, Psalms 147:3, Isaiah 53:5, Isaiah 57:18, Isaiah 57:19, Jeremiah 3:22, Hosea 6:1, Hosea 14:4, Luke 4:18

Reciprocal: Exodus 10:20 - General 1 Samuel 2:25 - hearkened 2 Kings 6:18 - Smite this people Job 24:13 - they know Psalms 24:10 - The Lord Psalms 69:23 - Their eyes Isaiah 6:9 - Hear ye Isaiah 44:18 - cannot Isaiah 48:8 - thou heardest Isaiah 59:10 - grope Isaiah 63:17 - and hardened Zechariah 11:17 - the sword Malachi 4:2 - the Sun Matthew 13:14 - the prophecy John 1:14 - we John 3:3 - he cannot John 8:43 - do John 12:35 - lest Acts 19:9 - divers 1 Corinthians 2:8 - for 2 Corinthians 3:14 - their 2 Corinthians 4:4 - the god Ephesians 4:18 - blindness 1 John 2:11 - because Revelation 17:17 - until

Gill's Notes on the Bible

He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart,.... It is of no great moment, whether the he, who is said to blind and harden, be God or Christ, or whether the words be rendered, "it hath blinded", c. that is, malice or wickedness or whether they be read impersonally, "their eyes are blinded", c. since God or Christ blind and harden not by any positive act, but by leaving and giving men up to the blindness and hardness of their hearts, and denying them the grace which could only cure them, and which they are not obliged to give and which was the case of these Jews, so as never to be converted, or be turned even by external repentance and reformation, that they might be healed in a national way, and be preserved from national ruin, as it follows,

that they should not see with their eyes,....

:-,

:-. The Syriac and Persic versions read, "they have blinded their eyes", &c.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He hath blinded their eyes - The expression in Isaiah is, “Go, make the heart of this people fat, and shut their eyes.” That is, go and proclaim truth to them truth that will result in blinding their eyes. Go and proclaim the law and the will of God, and the effect will be, owing to the hardness of their heart, that their eyes will be blinded and their hearts hardened. As God knew that this would be the result - as it was to be the effect of the message, his commanding Isaiah to go and proclaim it was the same in effect, or in the result, as if he had commanded him to blind their eyes and harden their hearts. It is this effect or result to which the evangelist refers in this place. He states that God did it, that is, he did it in the manner mentioned in Isaiah, for we are limited to that in our interpretation of the passage. In that case it is clear that the mode specified is not a direct agency on the part of God in blinding the mind - which we cannot reconcile with any just notions of the divine character - but “in suffering the truth to produce a regular effect on sinful minds, without putting forth any positive supernatural influence to prevent it.” The effect of truth on such minds is to irritate, to enrage, and to harden, unless counteracted by the grace of God. See Romans 7:8-9, Romans 7:11; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16. And as God knew this, and, knowing it, still sent the message, and suffered it to produce the regular effect, the Evangelist says “he hath blinded their minds,” thus retaining the substance of the passage in Isaiah without quoting the precise language; but in proclaiming the truth there was nothing wrong on the part of God or of Isaiah, nor is there any indication that God was unwilling that they should believe and be saved.

That they should not see ... - This does not mean that it was the design of God that they should not be converted, but that it was the effect of their rejecting the message. See the notes at Matthew 13:14-15.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 40. And I should heal them. — This verse is taken from Isaiah 6:9, and, perhaps, refers more to the judgments that should fall upon them as a nation, which God was determined should not be averted, than it does to their eternal state. To suppose that the text meant that God was unwilling that they should turn unto him, lest he should be obliged to save them, is an insupportable blasphemy.