What Does Hosea 14:5 Mean in the King James?

I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

Hosea 14:5 · 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.

THE KEY

The dew-fed life flowers above the ground while its roots strike deep below it: renewal is both visible opening and unseen anchoring.

THE MEANING

God’s life reaches you like dew: quietly and with what is needed for new growth. Your life opens like a lily while its roots drive deep like Lebanon’s trees; visible flowering and hidden stability belong to the same renewal.

THE ROOT

וְיַךְ

veyakh

GROWS FROM

נכה

to strike, hit, or smite

Alongside the KJV’s “cast forth,” the Hebrew verb carries the force of striking. The roots do more than extend; they press into the earth with force.

ALSO GROWS

nākāh: to strike or smite

נָכָה

This verb makes the force inside the image of roots pressing into the ground audible.

makkāh: a blow, wound, or plague

מַכָּה

This noun from the same root preserves the sense of impact carried by the verb.

יִפְרַח

yiphraḥ

GROWS FROM

פרח

to blossom, sprout, or break into bloom

The Hebrew gives “grow” the particular shape of blossoming. The life opens visibly like a lily, while the next image reaches down into the earth.

ALSO GROWS

peraḥ: a flower or blossom

פֶּרַח

The noun names the visible form that the verb describes opening.

pāraḥ: to blossom, sprout, or bloom

פָּרַח

This verb shows the same seed of life as an unfolding action.

שָׁרָשָׁיו

shorashav

GROWS FROM

שרש

root; to take root or become rooted

The word for “roots” shares its seed with the verb for taking root. The image is not only of possessing roots, but of actively anchoring into the earth.

ALSO GROWS

shoresh: root, source, or foundation

שֹׁרֶשׁ

This noun shows how the same root names a plant’s hidden base and the source from which something grows.

hishrish: to take root or become rooted

הִשְׁרִישׁ

This verbal form makes rooting an active movement, matching the roots that strike into the earth.

THE PATTERN

Life received as nourishment settles beneath the surface and becomes visible in bloom and fruit.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psalm 1:3 · KJVA tree receiving water remains rooted and bears fruit in its season.

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

Isaiah 55:10 · KJVRain received by the earth becomes new growth, seed, and food.

Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:7 · KJVBeing rooted is joined with a life that becomes established and abundant.

THE THREAD

He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.

Isaiah 27:6 · KJV

Isaiah uses ⁨שרש⁩ (sh-r-sh, root or take root) and ⁨פרח⁩ (p-r-ḥ, blossom) for the same paired movements found in Hosea. Here, rooted life blossoms and extends into fruit across the world.

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