John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 42:23

"Who is there among you that will give ear to this? that will hearken and hear for the time to come?" — Isaiah 42:23 (ASV)

Who is there among you? Isaiah continues on the same subject, for he means that the Jews are and will be so stupid that they will not see, even when they are warned. He expressly addresses them because, while they should have been better educated and taught than others, they understood nothing and did not observe the judgments of God, even though these were exceedingly clear.

Who shall hearken for the time to come? That is, who, being eventually subdued by afflictions, repents, though it is late. We see, then, how this astonishment aggravates the criminality of their madness, because they will always refuse to be taught. Yet let us learn what is the use of threats and punishments, for God does not reprove our crimes or punish us for them as if He delighted in taking vengeance or demanded some repayment, but so that we may be on our guard “for the time to come.”