What Does Deuteronomy 28:1 Mean in the King James?
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
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 this verse, hearing God is not just receiving a sound: it unfolds into guarding what is heard and carrying it into action.
THE MEANING
The verse describes your hearing as a whole movement: you hear the LORD your God’s voice, keep the commands in view, and do them. The promised outcome is that the LORD sets you high above the nations of the earth. Its condition is attentive response carried into action.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It dissolves the idea that hearing is complete once a voice is noticed; here, hearing continues into keeping and doing.
THE ROOT
שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע
shamoaʿ tishmaʿ
GROWS FROM
שמע
hear, listen, heed, respond
“hearken diligently” in this verse is shamoaʿ tishmaʿ. The Hebrew repeats the root in a construction that intensifies it: hearing, you shall hear. The voice is not merely audible; hearing is sustained responsiveness, which the verse then unfolds as keeping and doing.
ALSO GROWS
shamaʿ: hear, listen, heed
שָׁמַע
This is the root verb in the verse, showing that its starting point is attentive hearing.
shemuʿah: report, tidings; something heard
שְׁמוּעָה
This branch names what reaches the ear as a report, while the verse describes hearing that continues into response.
לִשְׁמֹר
lishmor
GROWS FROM
שמר
guard, watch, keep
The word translated “observe” carries the sense of guarding or keeping. Beside “to do,” it links sustained attention with enactment: the commands are kept close and then carried out.
ALSO GROWS
shomer: guard, keeper, watchman
שֹׁמֵר
The watchman branch shows the attentiveness contained in “observe”: what is heard is kept under watch.
mishmeret: charge, guard duty, keeping
מִשְׁמֶרֶת
This branch evokes an entrusted charge, illuminating the verse’s movement from hearing to keeping what has been given.
עֶלְיוֹן
ʿelyon
GROWS FROM
עלה
go up, rise, ascend
“set thee on high” in this verse is ʿelyon. The Hebrew calls the hearer ʿelyon, “uppermost,” from the root of rising or going up. The elevation is attributed to the LORD’s act; the verse does not describe it as a self-made climb.
ALSO GROWS
ʿalah: go up, rise, ascend
עָלָה
This verb supplies the root image beneath the promised elevation.
ʿaliyyah: ascent, going up
עֲלִיָּה
This related noun makes the upward movement in “set thee on high” visible within the Hebrew word family.
THE PATTERN
Hearing the LORD is a responsive act that takes shape in keeping and doing what is heard.
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:The opening “Hear” is שמע (shamaʿ), the same root intensified as “hearken diligently” here. Deuteronomy 28:1 extends that call into keeping and doing, revealing hearing as a response that continues through the whole person.
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