What Does 1 Chronicles 28:20 Mean?
And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and firm, and do it. Do not fear, nor be shattered, for the LORD God, even my God, will be with you. He will not release you, nor let go of you, until you have finished all the work of serving the house of the LORD.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.THE KEY
The promise beneath “he will not fail thee” is that God does not loosen his support or leave you before the work is complete.
THE MEANING
This work asks for strength and courage from you now, and the verse places the LORD’s presence beside that demand. He does not loosen his support or leave you before the work is complete. The finish remains ahead, but it is not held by your courage alone.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that needing courage means you have been abandoned is undone here: the verse calls for courage and says the LORD is with you at the same time.
THE ROOT
יַרְפְּךָ
yarpekha
GROWS FROM
רפה
raphah: to slacken, loosen, or release; here, to let go of someone.
“release” in this verse is yarpekha. The Hebrew behind “fail” is יַרְפְּךָ (yarpekha, “let you go”): it pictures support loosening, not simply a failed outcome. The paired promise “nor forsake thee” closes both forms of absence, the support does not slacken, and the presence does not depart.
ALSO GROWS
raphah: slackened, weakened, or let go
רָפָה
This verbal form shows the loosening that the promise denies: God does not slacken his support.
rafeh: slack, weak, or loose
רָפֶה
This adjective names the state of slackness, giving “he will not fail thee” the sense of support that does not grow slack.
חֲזַק
chazaq
GROWS FROM
חזק
chazaq: to be strong, firm, or prevail.
חֲזַק (chazaq, “be strong, be firm”) is an action, not merely a description of a fixed trait. The command pairs it with אֱמָץ (emats, “be courageous, be steadfast”), a different root that gives the verse two distinct words for meeting the work.
ALSO GROWS
chazaq: strong or firm
חָזָק
This adjective names the firmness the command calls into being for the work ahead.
chizzeq: strengthened or made firm
חִזֵּק
This related verb shows the root’s movement from strength as a state to the act of strengthening.
יַעַזְבֶךָ
yaazvekha
GROWS FROM
עזב
azav: to leave or abandon.
“let go of” in this verse is yaazvekha. The promise directly denies departure: יַעַזְבֶךָ (yaazvekha, “he will abandon you”) is what the verse says will not happen. Beside רפה (raphah, “slacken, release”), עזב (azav, “leave, abandon”) makes the assurance concrete: support does not loosen and the one who is with you does not leave.
ALSO GROWS
azav: left or abandoned
עָזַב
This verb names the departure the promise explicitly rules out.
azuv: abandoned or forsaken
עָזוּב
This related form describes the condition the verse says you will not be left in.
THE PATTERN
A difficult work is met by a promise of presence that persists until the work reaches completion.
Hold fast and be firm. Do not fear, and do not quake before them. For the LORD your God is the one who walks with you. He will not release you, nor leave you.The LORD finishes what concerns me; your faithful love, O LORD, endures for the ages; do not let the works of your hands drop.Being confident of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will finish it until the day of Jesus the Anointed One.THE THREAD
Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not look about in dismay, for I am your God. I will grip you, and I will help you, and I will hold you up with the right hand of my alignment.The courage called for here is אֱמָץ (emats, “be courageous, steadfast”), from אמץ (amats, “be firm, strengthen”); Isaiah uses that root in אֲמַצְתִּיךָ (amatz’tikha, “I will strengthen you”). The shared root joins courage with strengthening, while Isaiah names the presence that accompanies both.
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