ישעיהו, פרק ל״ב, פסוק ג׳

During a time of righteous rule and justice, society undergoes a profound spiritual awakening. The barriers that once prevented people from recognizing and absorbing the truth are finally removed. This new era of openness and acceptance of God's word is expected to take place during the reign of King Hezekiah [מלבי״ם, אברבנאל]. In previous times, the fear and flattery that characterized life under wicked leadership caused the nation to dull its senses, essentially pretending to be blind and deaf. Now, those coping mechanisms are replaced by honesty and true understanding [שד״ל].

The primary approach among commentators is that this shift serves as a direct counterweight to a harsh warning delivered earlier, which described a nation with a thickened heart, heavy ears, and sealed eyes. While people previously chose to close their eyes and block their ears, that negative trend is now completely reversing.

Instead of sealing their vision or looking away, the people will face the truth. The act of no longer shutting one's eyes is understood as an end to the plastering over of reality [רש״י] or as a refusal to turn one's back [מצודת ציון]. Eyes that are naturally meant to see will no longer be closed, covered, or diverted from looking straight ahead, nor will they turn away from God's word as they did in the past [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

At the same time, ears that were once heavy and blocked will open completely. This is not merely passive hearing, but an active, intentional listening marked by deep attention, even from a distance [מצודת ציון, מלבי״ם]. People will no longer act as if they are deaf to the teachings of the Torah; instead, they will actively seek to receive them [אברבנאל, רד״ק].

Regarding the identity of those who are seeing and hearing, the accepted view is that it refers to the everyday people themselves. They are simply returning to the proper use of their natural senses, which were intended from the moment of creation to see and hear the truth [שד״ל]. An alternative idea suggests that those who see are the prophets and those who hear are the masses, but this is firmly rejected. Isaiah never claimed that the prophets' eyes were ever sealed shut. Furthermore, the overall context of this era focuses on the spread of justice and righteousness throughout the entire society, rather than just the act of the masses listening to the prophets [שד״ל].