Yesaya 42:7

42:7 to open blind eyes, ¹ 

to release prisoners ²  from dungeons,

those who live in darkness from prisons.

Yesaya 44:18

44:18 They do not comprehend or understand,

for their eyes are blind and cannot see;

their minds do not discern. ³ 

[42:7]  ¹ sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.

[42:7]  ² sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.

[44:18]  ³ tn Heb “for their eyes are smeared over so they cannot see, so their heart cannot be wise.”