What Does 1 Samuel 12:25 Mean in the King James?
But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The king is named inside the consequence, not above it.
THE MEANING
When you persist in harm, its consequences can reach both the people and the ruler among them. The verse holds them together in one shared exposure.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A crown can shield its bearer from the consequences borne by the people.
THE ROOT
מֶלֶךְ
melekh
GROWS FROM
מלך
Rule, reign, be king.
The Hebrew word for king belongs to the same family as words for reigning and kingdom. Here, the king is part of the order under judgment, joined with the people rather than placed outside their fate.
ALSO GROWS
mālaḵ: To reign or rule.
מָלַךְ
The ruler’s office is an act of reigning, and the verse includes the ruler in the consequence.
mamlāḵāh: Kingdom or realm.
מַמְלָכָה
The king and the realm belong to one word family; the verse names both ruler and people together.
הָרֵעַ תָּרֵעוּ
hā-rēaʿ ta-rēʿû
GROWS FROM
רעע
To be bad, act wickedly, or do harm.
“do wickedly” in this verse is hā-rēaʿ ta-rēʿû. The Hebrew repeats this root in the phrase for doing evil, giving the conduct an emphatic, continuing force. Its word family holds evil and harm close together, so the verse speaks of actions with real consequences for the whole community.
ALSO GROWS
raʿ: Evil or bad.
רַע
This form names the quality present in the repeated action.
rōaʿ: Evil or harm.
רֹעַ
This noun brings the harmful character of the conduct into view.
THE PATTERN
Consequences and judgment reach across rank, joining rulers and the people they lead.
And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.For there is no respect of persons with God.THE THREAD
The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.The Hebrew word for “wickedness” here shares the root רעע with “do wickedly” in Samuel. Both verses connect persistent harm with ruin, and Deuteronomy makes the link between the conduct and its consequence explicit.
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