And the book is delivered to him that is not learned , saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
Isaiah was a prophet in ancient Israel who delivered messages from God to the people. In this passage, he describes a spiritual crisis — God's word has become inaccessible to the very people it was meant for. The scroll represents divine revelation. The educated person earlier in the chapter says the scroll is sealed; the uneducated person here says he simply cannot read. Together they paint a picture of a community where God's message cannot land — not because the word changed, but because the people have closed themselves off from it. It's a diagnosis of spiritual disconnection, not intellectual limitation.
God, I confess the ways I've kept your word at a comfortable distance — hiding behind confusion, or convincing myself I'm not qualified to let it really land. Break through my excuses. I don't need to understand everything. I just need to be willing to open the scroll. Amen.
There's a strange comfort in excuses that feel legitimate. "I'm not educated enough." "I don't have a theology degree." "The Bible is just too confusing." Isaiah was writing about this exact problem 2,700 years ago. The tragic thing isn't that some people in this passage lack ability — it's that the inability has become a wall. The learned person hides behind complexity; the unlearned person hides behind inadequacy. Both end up in the same place: untouched by the word sitting in their hands. Here's the uncomfortable question this verse quietly asks: What's your scroll? Not whether you can technically read — you probably can. But is there a part of what God says that you keep approaching with a pre-built reason for why it can't quite reach you? Some people hold Scripture at arm's length with analysis. Others hold it at arm's length with self-doubt. Both are forms of the same distance. The scroll hasn't changed. You have access to it. The only question is whether you'll actually let it in.
What do you think Isaiah is describing here — a lack of ability, a lack of willingness, or something else entirely? What clues in the text point you there?
What are the excuses you most commonly reach for when you feel distant from Scripture or from God — and how long have you been using them?
Is there a meaningful difference between genuine confusion about the Bible and using confusion as a reason to stay at a safe distance from it? How do you tell them apart in yourself?
How might the 'I can't read' posture show up in your relationships — are there hard truths from people close to you that you've deflected with a sense of inadequacy or overwhelm?
What would it look like this week to approach one part of Scripture you've been avoiding — not to master it, but just to sit with it honestly and see what surfaces?
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Hosea 4:6
For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Matthew 13:15
Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
John 3:10
For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
Jeremiah 4:22
Then the book will be given to the one who cannot read, saying, "Read this, please." And he will say, "I cannot read."
AMP
And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”
ESV
Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, 'Please read this.' And he will say, 'I cannot read.'
NASB
Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” he will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
NIV
Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I am not literate.”
NKJV
When you give it to those who cannot read, they will say, “We don’t know how to read.”
NLT
And if you give it to someone who can't read and tell him, "Read this," he'll say, "I can't read."
MSG