'Cannot' in the Bible

“Do not bring worthless offerings again,[Your] incense is repulsive to Me;[Your] New Moon and Sabbath [observances], the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing] and [the squalor of] the festive assembly.

Listen carefully, I will put the Medes [in motion] against them,Who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold [and therefore cannot be bribed].

Therefore [continues Isaiah] my loins are filled with anguish;Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in childbirth;I am so bent and bewildered that I cannot hear, I am so terrified that I cannot see.

The entire vision [of all these things] will be to you like the words of a scroll that is sealed, which they give to one who can read, saying, “Read this, please,” he shall say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

Then the book will be given to the one who cannot read, saying, “Read this, please.” And he will say, “I cannot read.”

“All will be ashamed because of a people (the Egyptians) who cannot benefit them,Who are not a help or benefit, but a shame and also a disgrace.”

A [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the beasts of the Negev (the South):Through a land of trouble and anguish,From where come lioness and lion, viper and [fiery] flying serpent,They carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeysAnd their treasures on the humps of camels,To a people (Egyptians) who cannot benefit them.

“Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar,Crushed so savagelythat there cannot be found among its pieces a potsherd [large enough]To take [coals of] fire from a fireplace,Or to scoop water from a cistern.”

You will no longer see the fierce and insolent people,A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends,Of a strange and stammering tongue which no one understands.

Your ship’s ropes (tackle) hang loose;They cannot hold the base of their mast firmly,Nor spread out the sail.Then an abundance of spoil and plunder will be divided;Even the lame will take the plunder.

“For Sheol cannot praise or thank You,Death cannot praise You and rejoice in You;Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.

And [the forests of] Lebanon cannot supply sufficient fuel to start a fire,Nor are its wild beasts enough for a burnt offering [worthy of the Lord].

So the craftsman encourages the goldsmith,And he who smooths metal with the smith’s hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,Saying of the soldering (welding), “That is good”;And he fastens the idol with nails,So that it will not totter nor be moved.

He who brings out the chariot and the horse,The army and the mighty warrior,(They will lie down together, they will not rise again;They have been extinguished, they have been put out like a lamp’s wick):

They do not know, nor do they understand, for God has muddied their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts (minds) as well so that they cannot understand.

That kind of man (the idolater) feeds on ashes [and is satisfied with ashes]! A deceived mind has led him astray, so that he cannot save himself, or ask, “Is this thing [that I am holding] in my right hand not a lie?”

“Assemble yourselves and come;Come together, you survivors of the nations!They are ignorant,Who carry around their wooden idols [in religious processions or into battle]And keep on praying to a god that cannot save them.

“Declare and present your defense of idols;Indeed, let them consult together.Who announced this [rise of Cyrus and his conquests] long before it happened?Who declared it long ago?Was it not I, the Lord?And there is no other God besides Me,A [consistently and uncompromisingly] just and righteous God and a Savior;There is none except Me.

They stooped over, they have bowed down together;They could not rescue the burden [of their own idols],But have themselves gone into captivity.

“They lift it on their shoulders [in religious processions or into battle] and carry it;They set it in its place and there it remains standing.It cannot move from its place.Even if one cries to it [for help], the idol cannot answer;It cannot save him from his distress.

“In fact, they are like stubble;Fire burns them.They cannot save themselves from the power of the flame [much less save the nation],There is no blazing coal for warmingNor fire before which to sit!

“Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]?When I called, why was there no one to answer?Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]?Or have I no power to rescue?Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea,I make the rivers into a desert;Their fish stink because there is no waterAnd die of thirst.

Israel’s watchmen are blind,They are all without knowledge.They are all mute dogs, they cannot bark;Panting, lying down, they love to slumber.

And the dogs are greedy; they never have enough.They are shepherds who have no understanding;They have all turned to their own way,Each one to his unlawful gain, without exception.

But the wicked are like the tossing sea,For it cannot be quiet,And its waters toss up mire and mud.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so shortThat it cannot save,Nor His ear so impairedThat it cannot hear.

Justice is pushed back,And righteous behavior stands far away;For truth has fallen in the city square,And integrity cannot enter.