What Does 2 Chronicles 18:15 Mean?

And the king said to him, How many times shall I bind you, that you speak nothing to me but truth in the nature of the LORD?

2 Chronicles 18:15 · SDV

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.

This verse in the King James

King James wording

King James Version

And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD?

THE KEY

He invokes the LORD’s name to demand truth, yet the truth he demands is anchored in the LORD’s nature, not his own authority.

THE MEANING

This verse speaks to the moment when truth is demanded under pressure: the speaker stands within the LORD’s nature. A person can insist on honesty while still wanting the answer to agree with them; truth remains reliable whether it is welcomed or not.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The lie this undoes is that demanding candor proves a willingness to receive it; the demand and the welcome are not the same.

THE ROOT

אֱמֶת

ʾemet

GROWS FROM

אמן

To be firm, steady, or reliable.

The Hebrew word-family connects truth with firmness and trustworthiness: truth is something a person can lean on, not only a statement that is correct. This makes the king’s demand sharper: truth has its footing in the LORD’s nature, beyond the wishes of the one asking.

ALSO GROWS

emunah: Steadfastness; trust.

אֱמוּנָה

This branch links truth with what can be trusted and relied upon.

amen: Firm; true; so be it.

אָמֵן

This familiar response carries the sense of affirming something as dependable.

THE PATTERN

Truth remains anchored in what is true even when a hearer demands, resists, or rejects it.

The lip of truth stands firm for the ages, but a lying tongue lasts only for a blink.

Proverbs 12:19 · SDVTruth endures because it has a firm footing, while falsehood cannot hold its place.

The prophet who has a dream, let him recount a dream; and whoever has my word, let him speak my word in truth. What is the chaff to the wheat? says the LORD.

Jeremiah 23:28 · SDVThe true word is distinguished from what cannot nourish, whether or not both are spoken as messages.

And because I speak the truth to you, you do not lean your weight on me.

John 8:45 · SDVTruth can be spoken plainly and still be refused by the one who hears it.

THE THREAD

And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not be steady, surely you shall not be made steady.

Isaiah 7:9 · SDV

The Hebrew root ⁨אמן⁩ (ʾāman, “be firm, steady”) echoes in the words rendered “believe” and “be established.” That sound-link lets truth here resonate as something reliable enough to stand on, not merely a statement that wins an argument.

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