What Does 2 Chronicles 9:5 Mean in the King James?
And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:
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
In Hebrew, the “report” and the king’s “acts” are both davar, the word and the matter it carries belong together.
THE MEANING
A true report can reach you before you encounter its source yourself. Here, the heard word and the reality it names hold together, so wisdom has both a reputation and a lived form.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the assumption that truth cannot reach you through another person’s report; what you hear can faithfully carry what is real.
THE ROOT
הַדָּבָר
haddavar
GROWS FROM
דבר
Word, matter, or thing; as a verb, to speak.
The Hebrew calls what she heard “the word” or “the matter,” and the KJV renders the same דבר family as “acts” in “thine acts.” English separates the report from the king’s deeds, while Hebrew holds word and matter in one family.
ALSO GROWS
davar: Word, matter, or thing.
דָּבָר
The report and the matter it describes share this word, joining testimony to what it carries.
dibbēr: He spoke; to speak.
דִּבֵּר
Speech grows from the same root as the matter or report spoken about.
אֱמֶת
emet
GROWS FROM
אמן
To be firm or steady; reliable.
The word translated “true” carries the sense of firmness: what is true holds steady. Its family also connects truth with trust and affirmation, so this report is presented as something that can be relied upon.
ALSO GROWS
emunah: Trust; steadiness or faithfulness.
אֱמוּנָה
The reliable report invites trust because its word holds firm.
amen: Amen; an affirmation, “so be it.”
אָמֵן
The same root family gives a spoken affirmation to what is held as true.
THE PATTERN
A report about reality gains weight when its words hold up in direct encounter.
Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;THE THREAD
Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.This verse joins the same Hebrew words: davar, “word/matter,” and emet, “truth/firmness.” The report in 2 Chronicles is a word whose matter holds true; the Psalm makes that bond explicit.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.
A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us