Discovery BoxActs 28:24-27 
Context28:24 Some were convinced 1 by what he said, 2 but others refused 3 to believe. 28:25 So they began to leave, 4 unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors 5 through the prophet Isaiah 28:26 when he said,
‘Go to this people and say,
“You will keep on hearing, 6 but will never understand,
and you will keep on looking, 7 but will never perceive.
28:27 For the heart of this people has become dull, 8
and their ears are hard of hearing, 9
and they have closed their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
1 tn Or “persuaded.”
2 tn Grk “by the things spoken.”
3 sn Some were convinced…but others refused to believe. Once again the gospel caused division among Jews, as in earlier chapters of Acts (13:46; 18:6).
4 tn The imperfect verb ἀπελύοντο (apeluonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
5 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
6 tn Grk “you will hear with hearing” (an idiom).
7 tn Or “seeing”; Grk “you will look by looking” (an idiom).
8 tn Or “insensitive.”
sn The heart of this people has become dull. The charge from Isaiah is like Stephen’s against the Jews of Jerusalem (Acts 7:51-53). They were a hard-hearted and disobedient people.
9 tn Grk “they hear heavily with their ears” (an idiom for slow comprehension).
10 sn Note how the failure to respond to the message of the gospel is seen as a failure to turn.
11 sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10.
