What Does 2 Kings 22:13 Mean?
Go, seek the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the burning of the LORD's anger that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not heard and responded to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written upon us.
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
Go ye, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.THE KEY
A book can be physically found while its words remain unheard: here, hearing means receiving what is written as a claim upon the people it names.
THE MEANING
The words found in the book concern you and the people you belong to; they do not sit at a safe distance. When they remain unheard and undone, the LORD’s wrath is kindled against the community named in the verse. The passage places discovery beside accountability: possessing the words is not yet responding to them.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that having access to scripture means one has already heard it. The book is found, yet its words still stand unanswered.
THE ROOT
שָׁמְעוּ
shāmeʿû
GROWS FROM
שמע
The root שמע (shamaʿ) means hear or listen; in this context, hearing carries the sense of heeding and responding.
“heard and responded” in this verse is shāmeʿû. The verse links not hearing with failing to do, so “hearkened” is more than sound reaching the ear. The words are present, but they have not been received into response.
ALSO GROWS
šəmaʿ: Hear or listen; in a call to obedience, hear and respond.
שְׁמַע
The same root makes listening a response to what is said, clarifying the failure described here.
šəmûʿāh: A report or tidings that are heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
The root links the message with its reception: the words can be present as a report while still going unheeded.
דִּבְרֵי
divrê
GROWS FROM
דבר
The root דבר (dāḇar) means speak; its noun can mean a word, matter, or affair.
The Hebrew word for “word” can also name a matter or affair, so the words “concerning us” are not detached sounds. They name matters belonging to the hearers’ own life and conduct.
ALSO GROWS
dāḇār: A spoken word, matter, or affair.
דָּבָר
This branch joins speech to the matters it names, illuminating why the book’s words concern the people themselves.
dibbēr: He spoke or declared.
דִּבֵּר
The spoken branch shows that these words carry a voice whose claims reach their hearers.
הַכָּתוּב
hakkāṯûḇ
GROWS FROM
כתב
The root כתב (kāṯaḇ) means write or inscribe.
The writing is not left at a distance: the verse says it is written “concerning us.” What is inscribed stands before the present hearer, while the passage exposes the difference between finding those words and answering them.
ALSO GROWS
kəṯāḇ: Writing or script.
כְּתָב
This branch makes the written form visible: the words have been inscribed and can be found.
miḵtāḇ: A letter or written message.
מִכְתָּב
A written message has a recipient; here, the words are expressly about the people who encounter them.
THE PATTERN
A word is truly heard when its claim passes from hearing into action.
And Samuel said, Does the LORD delight in rising offerings and slaughtered offerings as much as in hearing and responding to the voice of the LORD? Behold, hearing and responding is better than a slaughtered offering; to prick the ear is better than the fat of rams.But be makers of the word, and not hearers only, miscounting yourselves.THE THREAD
Hear and respond, O Israel. The LORD our God is one LORD.The same Hebrew root שמע (shamaʿ, “hear; listen”) anchors both verses. Deuteronomy addresses a whole people with “Hear”; this verse shows the fracture when the words are present but the people do not respond.
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