The Blind?

This, from Isaiah. In a different translation, because it sounds prettier that way*:

"Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.” (6:10, ESV)

Is it just me, or does this sound like the ultimate curse? Blindness, and hardened hearts, bother me whenever they happen in the OT. It's always God's refusal to allow people to see the truth (the implication being that if they did, they would instantly worship him. Or "turn and be healed," as the case may be), and it seems like stacking the odds against humans, who are disposed to being idiots to start with, is a pretty cheap way for YHWH to win glory. And then I worry that that makes me "this people." Have I been blinded? Oh god. I guess it's an effective literary device, though.

Because the Isaiah curse reminds me of Matthew's predestination-dualism, and also of the disciples' inability to understand the divine mystery, I'm wondering about blindness, as a theme, in the New Testament. Is Jesus' ministry to the blind, or is it only to those who can see well enough to ask for help?

*[Not-really-related note: I get that it must be hard to balance faithful translation with attractive English; still, why does it seem like no version of the Bible is consistent with its literary quality? I think we should combine the most poetic bits from all the different translations: English-Majors' Version. Which would find a market only at Whitworth.]