Reference: Blindness
American
This distressing malady is very prevalent in the East. Many physical causes in those countries unite to injure the organs of vision. The sun is hot, and in the atmosphere floats a very fine dust, which enters and frets the eye. The armies of France and England, which were so long in Egypt during the French was, suffered severely from ophthalmic disease. In the cities of Egypt, blindness is perpetuated as a contagious disease by the filthy habits of the natives. It is of frequent occurrence also on the coast of Syria. In ancient times the eyes of person hated or feared were often torn out, Jg 16:21; 1Sa 11:2; 2Ki 25:7. Blindness was sometimes inflicted as a punishment, Ge 19:11; Ac 13:6; and it was often threatened as a penalty, De 28:28. The Jews were enjoined by the humane laws of Moses to show all kindness and consideration to the blind, Le 19:14; De 27:18. No one affected with this infirmity could officiate as priest, /#Le 21:18.
Our Savior miraculously cured many cases of blindness, both that which was caused by disease and that which had existed from birth. In these cases there was a double miracle; for not only was the organ of sight restored, but also the faculty of using it which is usually gained only by long experience, Mr 8:22-25. The touching of the eyes of the blind, and anointing them with clay, Mt 9:29; Joh 9:6, can not have had any medicinal or healing effect. The healing was miraculous, by the power of God.
Blindness is often used for ignorance and error, especially our sinful want of discernment as to spiritual things, Mt 15:14; 2Co 4:4. The abuse of God's mercy increases this blindness, Joh 12:40. Blessed are the eyes that fix their adoring gaze first of all on the Redeemer.
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And they struck the men who were at the door of the house with blindness [which dazzled them], from the youths to the old men, so that they wearied themselves [groping] to find the door.
You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall [reverently] fear your God. I am the Lord.
For no man who has a blemish shall approach [God's altar to serve as priest], a man blind or lame, or he who has a disfigured face or a limb too long,
Cursed is he who misleads a blind man on his way. All the people shall say, Amen.
The Lord will smite you with madness and blindness and dismay of [mind and] heart.
But the Philistines laid hold of him, bored out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with [two] bronze fetters; and he ground at the mill in the prison.
Then He touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith and trust and reliance [on the power invested in Me] be it done to you;
Let them alone and disregard them; they are blind guides and teachers. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a ditch.
And they came to Bethsaida. And [people] brought to Him a blind man and begged Him to touch him. And He caught the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands upon him, He asked him, Do you [ possibly] see anything? read more. And he looked up and said, I see people, but [they look] like trees, walking. Then He put His hands on his eyes again; and the man looked intently [that is, fixed his eyes on definite objects], and he was restored and saw everything distinctly [even what was at a distance].
When He had said this, He spat on the ground and made clay (mud) with His saliva, and He spread it [as ointment] on the man's eyes.
He has blinded their eyes and hardened and benumbed their [callous, degenerated] hearts [He has made their minds dull], to keep them from seeing with their eyes and understanding with their hearts and minds and repenting and turning to Me to heal them.
When they had passed through the entire island of Cyprus as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain Jewish wizard or sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus.
Fausets
Its cure is one of our Lord's most frequent miracles (Lu 7:21; Mt 9:27; Mr 8:23; Joh 5:3; 9:1), as had been foretold (Isa 29:18; 35:5). In coincidence with this is the commonness of it in the E. In Ludd (Lydda) the saying is, every one is either blind or has but one eye. Jaffa has 500 blind out of 5,000 of a population. The dust and sand pulverized by the intense heat, the constant glare, and in the sandy districts the absence of the refreshing "green grass," (the presence of which Mark notices as noteworthy in the miracle of the feeding the multitudes,) the cold sea air on the coasts, the night dews affecting those sleeping on the roofs, all tend to produce blindness.
It is a constant image used of spiritual darkness, and Jesus' restoration of sight to the blind pointed to the analogous spiritual bestowal of sight on the soul. Paul, who had passed through both the physical and the spiritual transition from darkness to light (Ac 9:8-9), instinctively, by an obviously undesigned coincidence confirming authenticity, often uses the expressive image (Ac 26:18; 2Co 4:4; Eph 1:18; 4:18; Col 1:13). Elymas was smitten with blindness at Paul's word (Ac 13:11, compare Ge 19:11; 2Ki 6:18). The blind were to be treated kindly (Le 19:14; De 27:18). The pagan conquerors sometimes blinded captives (2Ki 25:7; 1Sa 11:2).
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And they struck the men who were at the door of the house with blindness [which dazzled them], from the youths to the old men, so that they wearied themselves [groping] to find the door.
And they struck the men who were at the door of the house with blindness [which dazzled them], from the youths to the old men, so that they wearied themselves [groping] to find the door.
You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall [reverently] fear your God. I am the Lord.
You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall [reverently] fear your God. I am the Lord.
Cursed is he who misleads a blind man on his way. All the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed is he who misleads a blind man on his way. All the people shall say, Amen.
And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in double fetters [hands and feet] and carried him to Babylon. [Foretold in Jer. 34:3; Ezek. 12:13.]
And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in double fetters [hands and feet] and carried him to Babylon. [Foretold in Jer. 34:3; Ezek. 12:13.]
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and out of obscurity and gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and out of obscurity and gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
As Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed Him, shouting loudly, Have pity and mercy on us, Son of David!
As Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed Him, shouting loudly, Have pity and mercy on us, Son of David!
And He caught the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands upon him, He asked him, Do you [ possibly] see anything?
And He caught the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands upon him, He asked him, Do you [ possibly] see anything?
In that very hour Jesus was healing many [people] of sicknesses and distressing bodily plagues and evil spirits, and to many who were blind He gave [ a free, gracious, joy-giving gift of] sight.
In that very hour Jesus was healing many [people] of sicknesses and distressing bodily plagues and evil spirits, and to many who were blind He gave [ a free, gracious, joy-giving gift of] sight.
In these lay a great number of sick folk -- "some blind, some crippled, and some paralyzed (shriveled up) -- " waiting for the bubbling up of the water.
In these lay a great number of sick folk -- "some blind, some crippled, and some paralyzed (shriveled up) -- " waiting for the bubbling up of the water.
As He passed along, He noticed a man blind from his birth.
As He passed along, He noticed a man blind from his birth.
Then Saul got up from the ground, but though his eyes were opened, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
Then Saul got up from the ground, but though his eyes were opened, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was unable to see for three days, and he neither ate nor drank [anything].
And he was unable to see for three days, and he neither ate nor drank [anything].
And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind, [so blind that you will be] unable to see the sun for a time. Instantly there fell upon him a mist and a darkness, and he groped about seeking persons who would lead him by the hand.
And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind, [so blind that you will be] unable to see the sun for a time. Instantly there fell upon him a mist and a darkness, and he groped about seeking persons who would lead him by the hand.
To open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may thus receive forgiveness and release from their sins and a place and portion among those who are consecrated and purified by faith in Me.
To open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may thus receive forgiveness and release from their sins and a place and portion among those who are consecrated and purified by faith in Me.
By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),
By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),
Their moral understanding is darkened and their reasoning is beclouded. [They are] alienated (estranged, self-banished) from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the ignorance (the want of knowledge and perception, the willful blindness) that is deep-seated in them, due to their hardness of heart [to the insensitiveness of their moral nature].
Their moral understanding is darkened and their reasoning is beclouded. [They are] alienated (estranged, self-banished) from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the ignorance (the want of knowledge and perception, the willful blindness) that is deep-seated in them, due to their hardness of heart [to the insensitiveness of their moral nature].
[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
That I may proclaim it fully and make it clear [speak boldly and unfold that mystery], as is my duty.
Hastings
Morish
Used metaphorically to describe the state of man by nature under the influence of Satan, 2Co 4:4; also a professing Christian who hates his brother, 1Jo 2:11; also the state of Israel in their heartless profession, Mt 23:16-26; and the judicial blindness on Israel. Joh 12:40. In Ro 11:7,25; 2Co 3:14; Eph 4:18, it is rather 'obdurateness or hardness,' from ?????,'to harden.'
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Woe to you, blind guides, who say, If anyone swears by the sanctuary of the temple, it is nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the sanctuary, he is a debtor [bound by his oath]. You blind fools! For which is greater: the gold, or the sanctuary of the temple that has made the gold sacred? read more. You say too, Whoever swears by the altar is not duty bound; but whoever swears by the offering on the altar, his oath is binding. You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar which makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the sanctuary of the temple swears by it and by Him Who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by Him Who sits upon it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you give a tenth of your mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected and omitted the weightier (more important) matters of the Law -- "right and justice and mercy and fidelity. These you ought [particularly] to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, filtering out a gnat and gulping down a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but within they are full of extortion (prey, spoil, plunder) and grasping self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may be clean also.
He has blinded their eyes and hardened and benumbed their [callous, degenerated] hearts [He has made their minds dull], to keep them from seeing with their eyes and understanding with their hearts and minds and repenting and turning to Me to heal them.
What then [shall we conclude]? Israel failed to obtain what it sought [God's favor by obedience to the Law]. Only the elect (those chosen few) obtained it, while the rest of them became callously indifferent (blinded, hardened, and made insensible to it).
Lest you be self-opinionated (wise in your own conceits), I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren: a hardening (insensibility) has [temporarily] befallen a part of Israel [to last] until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in,
For the god of this world has blinded the unbelievers' minds [that they should not discern the truth], preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God.
Their moral understanding is darkened and their reasoning is beclouded. [They are] alienated (estranged, self-banished) from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the ignorance (the want of knowledge and perception, the willful blindness) that is deep-seated in them, due to their hardness of heart [to the insensitiveness of their moral nature].
And above all these [put on] love and enfold yourselves with the bond of perfectness [which binds everything together completely in ideal harmony].
But he who hates (detests, despises) his brother [ in Christ] is in darkness and walking (living) in the dark; he is straying and does not perceive or know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Smith
is extremely common in the East from many causes. Blind beggars figure repeatedly in the New Testament
and "opening the eyes of the blind" is mentioned in prophecy as a peculiar attribute of the Messiah.
etc. The Jews were specially charged to treat the blind with compassion and care.
Le 19:14; De 27:18
Blindness willfully inflicted for political or other purposes is alluded to in Scripture.
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You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall [reverently] fear your God. I am the Lord.
Cursed is he who misleads a blind man on his way. All the people shall say, Amen.
But Nahash the Ammonite told them, On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I thrust out all your right eyes and thus lay disgrace on all Israel.
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and out of obscurity and gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.
To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness from the prison.
Moreover, he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with shackles to take him to Babylon.
Then a blind and dumb man under the power of a demon was brought to Jesus, and He cured him, so that the blind and dumb man both spoke and saw.
Watsons
BLINDNESS is often used in Scripture to express ignorance or want of discernment in divine things, as well as the being destitute of natural sight. See Isa 42:18-19; 6:10; Mt 15:14. "Blindness of heart" is the want of understanding arising from the influence of vicious passions. "Hardness of heart" is stubbornness of will, and destitution of moral feeling. Moses says, "Thou shalt not put a stumbling block before the blind," Le 19:14, which may be understood literally; or figuratively, as if Moses recommended that charity and instruction should be shown to them who want light and counsel, or to those who are in danger of going wrong through their ignorance. Moses says also, "Cursed be he who maketh the blind to wander out of his way," De 27:18, which may also be taken in the same manner. An ignorant or erring teacher is compared by our Lord to a blind man leading a blind man;
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You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall [reverently] fear your God. I am the Lord.
Cursed is he who misleads a blind man on his way. All the people shall say, Amen.
Make the heart of this people fat; and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn again and be healed.
Hear, you deaf! And look, you blind, that you may see! Who is blind but My servant [Israel]? Or deaf like My messenger whom I send? Who is blind like the one who is at peace with Me [who has been admitted to covenant relationship with Me]? Yes, who is blind like the Lord's servant?
Let them alone and disregard them; they are blind guides and teachers. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a ditch.