What Does 2 Kings 23:25 Mean in the King James?
And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
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
This verse measures greatness by the completeness of a return: every part of the self turns toward the LORD under instruction.
THE MEANING
A return to the LORD gathers the choosing heart, the living soul, and the whole measure of strength into one direction. The instruction associated with Moses gives that direction its shape. The verse speaks of wholeness as a life aligned all the way through.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a turn toward God is only an inward feeling: here, heart, living soul, and strength move together, and the movement is shaped by instruction.
THE ROOT
שָׁב
shav from shuv
GROWS FROM
שׁוּב
shuv
To turn back or return.
“turned” in this verse is shav from shuv. The word carries the motion of returning, not merely an inward change of mind. With its direction named, “unto the LORD”, the verb gathers heart, living soul, and strength into one reorientation.
ALSO GROWS
yashuv: He will return.
יָשׁוּב
This form carries the same directional movement, showing that return is an action, not just a label.
meshubah: Turning away; backsliding.
מְשׁוּבָה
The root can describe departure as well as return, so the direction of the turn matters.
תּוֹרַת
torat
GROWS FROM
יָרָה
yarah
To point or direct; to instruct or teach.
The verse’s “law” is Torah, instruction that gives the return its direction. The turn is shaped by a way that points toward the LORD.
ALSO GROWS
torah: Instruction.
תּוֹרָה
This is the word translated “law”; its sense of instruction makes the return a directed way of life.
moreh: Teacher; instructor.
מוֹרֶה
The related word for an instructor connects teaching with pointing the way.
מֹשֶׁה
Moshe
GROWS FROM
מָשָׁה
mashah
To draw out.
The instruction named through Moses carries the name of one drawn out of water. That name brings a movement from being held in danger toward being brought out into view.
ALSO GROWS
mashah: To draw out.
מָשָׁה
This verb is the root behind the name Moses.
meshitihu: I drew him out.
מְשִׁיתִהוּ
In Exodus 2:10, this form explains the name Moses through the act of drawing him out of the water.
THE PATTERN
Whole-person devotion is a return whose direction is shaped by God’s instruction.
And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.THE THREAD
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.The same root שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) appears in “let him return unto the LORD.” Isaiah places that return beside forsaking a way and thoughts, showing the turn as a reorientation of the whole course of life.
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