A sharp divine rebuke is directed at the deep-seated stubbornness and rebellious nature of the Israelites. God declares that their refusal to listen and internalize His messages is not a recent development, but rather a consistent pattern of defiance that has defined them since their very beginning.
This spiritual deafness takes several forms. The primary approach among commentators is that this describes the nation's historical refusal to listen to the prophets, study the Torah, and fulfill the commandments. However, others understand this closed-mindedness in the context of prophecies and miracles. God revealed wondrous events in advance so the people could not deny His involvement, yet they still refused to accept the truth [מלבי״ם, שד״ל]. A unique historical perspective views these expressions of denial as hints to the three major exiles of the Israelites. The first hints at the future, final exile; the second points to the Babylonian exile; and the third refers back to the Egyptian exile. Throughout all these periods, the nation continually repeated its sins [אברבנאל]. Ultimately, their ears simply refused to open themselves to receive God's words and let them inside [רד״ק, אבן עזרא, שד״ל].
The root of this stubbornness does not stem from a lack of knowledge or simple ignorance, but from intentional malice. God knew in advance, even when He first set out to rescue the Israelites from Egypt, that they would eventually betray Him. Nevertheless, He chose to redeem them anyway in order to uphold His oath to their forefathers [רש״י]. This betrayal is multifaceted. It involves a breach of trust within an intimate relationship, much like infidelity between close friends or spouses. At the same time, it also takes the form of absolute rebellion, similar to a servant completely rejecting the authority of his master [מלבי״ם ביאור המילות].
This rebellious identity is deeply ingrained, described as being present from the very womb. Commentators understand this origin in two distinct ways. One approach views this on a national and historical level, where the womb serves as a metaphor for the infancy of the nation. In this light, the Israelites began to sin from the very moment they were chosen during the Exodus from Egypt and throughout their subsequent wanderings in the desert [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רד״ק, אברבנאל]. Conversely, a second approach understands this on a personal, natural level, viewing the tendency to sin as an innate human trait present from birth [רד״ק, מלבי״ם, אבן עזרא, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This inherent flaw is tied to the influence of the evil inclination, which seeks to control a person from the very moment they enter the world [חומת אנך].