What Does 2 Kings 18:31 Mean in the King James?
Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:
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 conqueror sells surrender as “a blessing” and presents personal comfort as its proof.
THE MEANING
A pressing voice tells you not to heed the voice resisting it, then promises ordinary provision if you come out to it. The offer sounds intimate and concrete, your own vine, fig tree, and water, while its condition places you within the speaker’s reach. Blessing and coercion occupy the same sentence.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A promise of familiar comforts does not prove an offer is safe; here, those comforts are conditional on coming out to the speaker.
THE ROOT
בְּרָכָה
berakhah
GROWS FROM
ברך
barakh
To bless; the same consonants also name the knee and bending.
“agreement by a present” in this verse is berakhah. The Hebrew word is berakhah, “blessing” or “gift,” where the KJV reads “agreement ... by a present.” The word of blessing carries a shadow of bending: this offer calls itself a gift while asking the hearers to yield to its terms.
ALSO GROWS
barakh: bless
בָּרַךְ
This is the verb behind the offer’s language of blessing.
berekh: knee
בֶּרֶךְ
The shared root consonants connect blessing with the posture of bending.
berakhah: blessing; gift or present
בְּרָכָה
This is the word used for the Assyrian king’s proposed agreement and present.
תִּשְׁמְעוּ
tishme'u
GROWS FROM
שמע
shama
To hear, listen, heed, and respond.
“hearken” in this verse is tishme'u. The command is not only to distrust Hezekiah; it redirects whose words receive a response. Hebrew’s hearing-and-responding sense makes the contest over listening part of the bargain itself.
ALSO GROWS
shema: hear and respond
שְׁמַע
It shows that heeding a voice can already involve acting on what it says.
shemu'ah: report; something heard
שְׁמוּעָה
The king’s words arrive as a competing report about what will happen if the people obey.
וּצְאוּ
utse'u
GROWS FROM
יצא
yatsa
To go out; to emerge.
The promise of food and water has a condition of movement: come out to the speaker first. The root makes the boundary crossing explicit inside what might sound like a simple invitation.
ALSO GROWS
yetsi'ah: going out; departure
יְצִיאָה
It names the departure embedded in the command to come out.
yotse: one who goes out
יוֹצֵא
This form highlights the person who takes the step the offer requires.
THE PATTERN
A promised good can carry a demand for allegiance, while true dwelling is marked by freedom from fear.
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.THE THREAD
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:The Hebrew word berakhah (בְּרָכָה, “blessing” or “gift”) in this verse belongs to the same root as “bless” and “a blessing” in Genesis. There, blessing is given and the recipient becomes a blessing; here, a gift called blessing comes attached to a demand to yield.
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