What Does 2 Chronicles 20:20 Mean in the King James?

And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

2 Chronicles 20:20 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The Hebrew uses one root for “believe” and “be established”: what you lean your weight on becomes your footing.

THE MEANING

The verse locates your footing in trust: reliance on the LORD makes you firm, and trust in his prophets opens a way toward success. In Hebrew, “believe” and “be established” share the same root, so trust carries the sense of becoming steadfast, not merely agreeing.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The belief that trust is merely an inward opinion, with no bearing on your footing or direction, dissolves here.

THE ROOT

הַאֲמִינוּ

ha'aminu

GROWS FROM

אמן

ʾ-m-n

Firm, reliable, steady.

“Believe / be established” in this verse is ha'aminu. The Hebrew uses forms of ⁨אמן⁩ for both “believe” and “be established.” What English separates into trust and its result, the shared root holds together: trust is linked to becoming steady.

ALSO GROWS

ʾamen: Amen; truly, firmly.

אָמֵן

The familiar affirmation carries the sense of what is firm and trustworthy.

ʾemunah: Firmness, faithfulness, trustworthiness.

אֱמוּנָה

This branch shows trust as a quality of reliability and steadiness, not just agreement.

וְהַצְלִיחוּ

ve-hatzlichu

GROWS FROM

צלח

ṣ-l-ḥ

Advance, succeed, make progress.

The word translated “prosper” comes from ⁨צלח⁩, a root associated with advancing and succeeding. Beside ⁨אמן⁩, it links firm footing with forward movement: trust steadies you, and the path opens toward success.

ALSO GROWS

ṣālaḥ: Advance, succeed, make progress.

צָלַח

The basic verb gives prosperity a sense of movement toward an outcome.

hiṣlîaḥ: Cause to succeed, bring about success.

הִצְלִיחַ

This causative form shows how the root can describe success taking effect.

THE PATTERN

Trust in a reliable word gives people firm footing and carries them toward its fulfillment.

And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

Isaiah 7:9 · KJV“Believe” and “be established” again share the Hebrew root ⁨אמן⁩, joining trust directly to firmness.

A Song of degrees. They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

Psalm 125:1 · KJVTrust in the LORD is pictured as a footing that cannot be moved.

Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

Hebrews 11:11 · KJVTrust rests on the reliability of the one who promises and becomes the ground for what follows.

THE THREAD

And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Genesis 15:6 · KJV

The verb translated “believed” comes from ⁨אמן⁩, the same root that joins “believe” to “be established” in 2 Chronicles 20:20. Together, the verses link trust with becoming firmly grounded.

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