What Does Jeremiah 22:2 Mean?
And say, Hear and respond to the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, you who sit upon the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter by these gates.
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 say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:THE KEY
The Hebrew command is shema, hear and respond, so the king, his servants, and everyone entering the gates are all placed within one call.
THE MEANING
The word reaches every layer of the order you inhabit: the one who holds authority, those who serve, and those who pass through the gates. Its call to hear carries the force of response, so attention here reaches into shared life.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that a seat of authority places its occupant beyond the reach of the LORD’s word.
THE ROOT
שְׁמַע
shemaʿ
GROWS FROM
שמע
sh-m-ʿ
Hear, heed, listen and respond.
“Hear and respond” in this verse is shemaʿ. The command is not only to catch a sound; shema names hearing that receives and answers. The king, his servants, and the people are gathered as responders, so no layer of public life is merely a spectator.
ALSO GROWS
shomea: One who hears or listens.
שֹׁמֵעַ
The verse places the king among those who must listen, not above the act of hearing.
shemuʿah: A report, tidings, or something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
What is heard becomes a message received, linking hearing to what enters public understanding.
דְּבַר
devar
GROWS FROM
דבר
d-b-r
Speak; as a noun, a word or matter.
Davar can name both a spoken word and a matter or thing. The verse places the LORD’s utterance among the concrete affairs carried through the gates, rather than leaving it as abstract speech.
ALSO GROWS
dibber: He spoke.
דִּבֵּר
This verbal branch shows the word as speech that is actively uttered.
devarim: Words, matters, or things.
דְּבָרִים
The same root can point from what is spoken to the matters themselves, joining the LORD’s word to public life.
דָּוִד
David
GROWS FROM
דוד
d-w-d
Beloved; beloved one.
The throne is named through David, whose name carries the root sense “beloved.” That name adds belonging to the seat of rule even as the command places its occupant under the word.
ALSO GROWS
dod: Beloved; also a close male relative or uncle.
דּוֹד
This branch carries affection and kinship into the name attached to the throne.
dodim: Loves or expressions of love.
דּוֹדִים
This related form keeps the root’s sense of affection present alongside the royal name.
THE PATTERN
The word that orders public life addresses rulers and communities as hearers whose listening carries into response.
And I commanded your judges at that time, saying, Hear and respond between your brothers, and judge in alignment between each man and his brother, and the sojourner who is with him.And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commands is, Hear and respond, O Israel; the LORD our God is one LORD.THE THREAD
Hear and respond to the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom. Bend your ear to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah.Isaiah repeats the roots shama, “hear and respond,” and davar, “word,” while pairing rulers with the people as Jeremiah does. The parallel gathers the whole public order under one address, with no rank outside the act of hearing.
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