What Does Ezra 5:1 Mean in the King James?
Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.
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
A prophetic word spoken in God’s name comes from God’s nature and reaches its hearers directly.
THE MEANING
God’s word reaches you through human voices and speaks from God’s nature. Even when a word seems meant for someone else, “even unto them” makes its address direct.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that God’s word is distant from ordinary people: it reaches its hearers where they are.
THE ROOT
וַיִּנָּבְאוּ
vayinnav’u
GROWS FROM
נבא
n-b-ʾ
nabaʾ: to speak prophetically, to utter prophetic speech.
“prophesied” in this verse is vayinnav’u. The same root links the prophetic act with the prophet’s identity: the voice and the one who speaks belong to one word-family. English separates the people called prophets from the speech they deliver; Hebrew keeps their connection audible.
ALSO GROWS
navi: prophet
נָבִיא
The prophet is named by the same root as the prophetic speech.
nevuah: prophecy, prophetic utterance
נְבוּאָה
The message itself carries the root of the act described here.
הַיְּהוּדִים
hayyehudim
GROWS FROM
ידה
y-d-h
yadah: to acknowledge, give thanks, or praise.
“Jews / Judah” in this verse is hayyehudim. “Jews” and “Judah” echo the same name-family, rooted in acknowledgment and praise. The English phrasing makes them sound like separate labels; the Hebrew keeps the people and the place connected.
ALSO GROWS
yadah: to give thanks, acknowledge, or praise
יָדָה
This verb carries the root associated with Judah’s name.
todah: thanks, thanksgiving
תּוֹדָה
The related word makes the praise connection in Judah’s name more audible.
יְרוּשָׁלַיִם
Yerushalayim
GROWS FROM
שלם
sh-l-m
shalem: to be whole, complete, or sound.
Jerusalem’s name carries the shalom family of wholeness. The English place-name hides that echo while the verse names the people as present there.
ALSO GROWS
shalom: wholeness
שָׁלוֹם
This familiar branch makes the wholeness carried in Jerusalem’s name audible.
shalem: whole, complete
שָׁלֵם
This adjective expresses the root’s sense of completeness.
THE PATTERN
A word from God reaches people through human voices and takes effect among its hearers.
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.THE THREAD
And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.The same Hebrew root for prophesying returns, now beside the people’s building and completion. The shared root shows the prophetic word reaching beyond speech into what takes shape among its hearers.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us