What Does Daniel 9:13 Mean in the King James?

As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

Daniel 9:13 · 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 verse binds understanding truth to turning: insight belongs to the movement of return.

THE MEANING

When harm reaches you, this verse exposes another ache: prayerful turning and understanding God’s truth remain absent together. It binds insight to direction, rather than treating truth as something grasped apart from the way a life is turning.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

Suffering itself does not guarantee a turn toward truth.

THE ROOT

לשוב

lashuv

GROWS FROM

שוב

to turn back, return

This root holds turning and returning in one movement; here, the turn is away from the iniquities named in the verse. The next phrase binds that return to discerning truth, so understanding is connected to a changed direction.

ALSO GROWS

yashuv: he will return, turn back

יָשׁוּב

This verb form shows the root as a concrete return, illuminating the verse’s call for a change of direction.

meshuvah: backsliding, turning away

מְשׁוּבָה

This branch shares the same root and shows that the root names a change of direction; the surrounding words make clear whether the movement is a return or a departure.

להשכיל

lehaśkil

GROWS FROM

שכל

to understand with insight, act wisely

“understand” in this verse is lehaśkil. This root carries discernment that can be expressed in wise action, not simply possession of facts. In this verse, understanding truth stands beside turning, joining clear perception to the direction of a life.

ALSO GROWS

maskil: one who understands, a discerning person

מַשְׂכִּיל

This form names a person characterized by insight, showing the root’s connection between understanding and discernment.

hiskil: understood, acted wisely

הִשְׂכִּיל

This verb shares the root and joins comprehension with wise action, deepening the verse’s pairing of understanding and turning.

THE PATTERN

Consequences can arrive without producing a turn; truthful understanding belongs to the return itself.

I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.

Psalm 119:59 · KJVThe speaker examines their ways and turns their feet, showing reflection becoming a change of direction.

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.

Isaiah 55:7 · KJVReturning to the LORD is paired with forsaking harmful ways and thoughts, making the turn part of the movement toward mercy.

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:32 · KJVKnowing truth is joined to freedom, showing that truth received changes a person’s condition.

THE THREAD

And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

Jeremiah 24:7 · KJV

Jeremiah’s word for return comes from ⁨שוב⁩ (shuv, turn or return), the same root as Daniel’s turn. It places that return beside knowing God, echoing Daniel’s bond between turning and understanding truth.

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