What Does Isaiah 11:3 Mean in the King James?
And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
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 verse calls his discernment a kind of smelling: awe of the LORD lets him perceive beyond what eyes and ears alone can tell.
THE MEANING
You are shown a judgment rooted in awe of the LORD, with perception figured as a sense of smell. The one described does not let sight alone dictate his verdict or hearing alone dictate his correction. The verse uncovers how easily what is visible and reported can be mistaken for the whole truth.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that what you can see or have heard is enough to know the truth.
THE ROOT
וַהֲרִיחוֹ
wahărîḥô
GROWS FROM
ריח
to smell, sense, or perceive by scent
The Hebrew uses the root for smelling where the KJV says “quick understanding.” It pictures discernment as sensing what is present beyond what eyes see and ears hear.
ALSO GROWS
rēaḥ: fragrance, odor, or savor
רֵיחַ
The same root names what is sensed by smell, making the verse’s picture of discernment concrete.
hērîaḥ: to smell or perceive by scent
הֵרִיחַ
This verbal form shares the root behind the verse’s unusual image of quick perception.
יִרְאַת
yir'at
GROWS FROM
ירא
to fear, stand in awe, or revere
“fear” in this verse is yir'at. Because the awe is directed toward the LORD, the word carries reverence rather than mere alarm. That awe frames the discernment described in the verse.
ALSO GROWS
yārē: to fear or stand in awe
יָרֵא
This form shows the root’s sense of a person’s response to what is revered.
môrā: fear, dread, or reverence
מוֹרָא
This noun shares the root and shows its range from fear to reverence.
יוֹכִיחַ
yôkîaḥ
GROWS FROM
יכח
to decide, prove, correct, or reprove
The verb rendered “reprove” can also describe deciding or adjudicating a matter. Alongside “judge,” it presents not just a rebuke but a verdict that does not rest on what the ears happen to hear.
ALSO GROWS
tôkēḥāh: rebuke or correction
תּוֹכֵחָה
This related noun shows the corrective sense carried by “reprove.”
hôkîaḥ: to prove, decide, or correct
הוֹכִיחַ
This related verb reveals the adjudicating sense beneath the KJV wording.
THE PATTERN
Judgment rooted in awe of the LORD looks beyond first impressions and does not treat appearances or partial reports as the whole truth.
But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.THE THREAD
And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:Genesis uses the same Hebrew smell-root as Isaiah’s “quick understanding”: Isaac literally senses a scent and reaches a mistaken identification. The connection shows that perception itself can mislead; Isaiah places discernment under the awe of the LORD.
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