What Does Ezekiel 27:31 Mean in the King James?
And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
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 repeated word “bitter” binds the living self to its lament, making grief both what is tasted within and what is heard aloud.
THE MEANING
When a world of exchange and security collapses, grief reaches the whole living self: it shows on the body and rises in bitter cries. The repeated bitterness gives the lament a sharp, public sound.
THE ROOT
מַר
mar
GROWS FROM
מרר
marar
To be bitter or make bitter.
The verse uses this root for both the bitterness of the living soul and the bitter lament. The repeated seed joins grief’s inward taste to the sound it makes in the open.
ALSO GROWS
vaymareru: They made bitter.
וַיְמָרְרוּ
In Exodus 1:14, the same root describes lives made bitter; here it marks grief voiced as lament.
merorim: Bitter herbs.
מְרֹרִים
In Exodus 12:8, the root names bitterness as something tasted, echoing the image of grief as an inward taste.
נֶפֶשׁ
nefesh
GROWS FROM
נפש
n-p-sh
The living self; its verb form means to rest or be refreshed.
“heart” in this verse is nefesh. The phrase carries nefesh, the living soul: bitterness reaches the living person in their fullness. The same word family also names being refreshed, linking the self that bears grief with the self that can rest.
ALSO GROWS
nefesh: Living soul.
נֶפֶשׁ
This is the living self marked by bitterness in the verse.
vayinnafash: He rested and was refreshed.
וַיִּנָּפַשׁ
Exodus 31:17 uses this related verb for rest and refreshment, showing another condition named by the same root family.
THE PATTERN
When a city built on trade falls, those tied to its wealth turn the loss into public lament.
Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.THE THREAD
And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.The same root for “bitter” appears here as “they made their lives bitter.” It joins the inward taste and spoken lament of Ezekiel’s verse to bitterness imposed on the living.
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