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See the exact Isaiah 6:9 form guide with morphology, clause role, and guardrails.
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How וּרְא֥וּ Works in Isaiah 6:9
A focused form insight on Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural in Isaiah 6:9.
Isaiah 6:9 - BSB
And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
The Question
How does וּרְא֥וּ function in Isaiah 6:9?
Short Answer
וּרְא֥וּ is a Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural in Isaiah 6:9. The form helps readers hear the sharpness of Isaiah's commission: the people are addressed in a way that exposes seeing without true perception. Grammar matters here, but the surrounding commission keeps the interpretation governed.
What the Form Is Doing
וּרְא֥וּ appears in Isaiah 6:9 as a Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural. It forms the seeing side of the commission's hearing-and-seeing pair, exposing perception without true understanding.
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural functions inside the quoted commission message to the people in Isaiah 6:9. The command form must be read with the surrounding judicial context of hearing without understanding and seeing without perceiving.
Why It Matters for Interpretation
The form helps readers hear the sharpness of Isaiah's commission: the people are addressed in a way that exposes seeing without true perception. Grammar matters here, but the surrounding commission keeps the interpretation governed.
The form sits in Isaiah 6's judicial commission and materially affects how the line is heard.
Translation Effect
The imperative form directly supports the command-like English rendering "be ever seeing."
The form guide should support the public Bible reading, not replace it with a private rendering.
What It Does Not Prove
Do not make the imperative alone settle divine hardening, human responsibility, or the whole theology of Isaiah 6. The form explains the clause, while the commission context governs the claim.
Grammar should serve context, not override it.
Do not use the command form by itself to settle every theological question about response or obedience.
Evidence from the Form Guide
The BSB+ row for Isaiah 6:9 links the English rendering "be ever seeing" with וּרְא֥וּ, Strong's H7200, and the parsing label Conj-w | V-Qal-Imp-mp.
When teaching Isaiah 6:9, use this form to show the command-like force of the line, then immediately anchor it in the commission context so readers do not treat the imperative as a simple invitation detached from judgment.
What It Does Not Prove
- Do not make the imperative alone settle divine hardening, human responsibility, or the whole theology of Isaiah 6. The form explains the clause, while the commission context governs the claim.
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not use the command form by itself to settle every theological question about response or obedience.
- Do not use the stem label by itself to settle a theological claim.