What Does Isaiah 2:19 Mean in the King James?
And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly 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
The verse makes the earth itself the object of a verb meaning “to terrify” when the LORD rises.
THE MEANING
People flee into rock-holes and earth-caves for fear of the LORD, while the earth itself is shaken. The ground that seems to shelter them is also caught in the upheaval.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that the earth can remain a secure hiding place when the LORD rises; even the ground is shaken.
THE ROOT
לַעֲרֹץ
laʿărōṣ
GROWS FROM
ערץ
To terrify, dread, or make tremble.
“shake terribly” in this verse is laʿărōṣ. The Hebrew verb places terror directly on the earth: the people hide, but the ground itself is made to tremble. The related word עָרִיץ (ʿārîṣ, a terrifying or ruthless person) shows that this root can describe terror embodied in an agent as well as terror expressed in the earth’s shaking.
ALSO GROWS
ʿārîṣ: A terrifying, ruthless, or violent person.
עָרִיץ
This related form gives terror a human face; here the same root’s force falls on the earth.
ʿārîṣîm: Terrifying or ruthless people.
עָרִיצִים
The plural carries the same consonants and root sense, showing how ערץ can name those who inspire dread.
הָאָרֶץ
hāʾāreṣ
GROWS FROM
ארץ
Earth, land, or ground.
The phrase לַעֲרֹץ הָאָרֶץ (laʿărōṣ hāʾāreṣ, to terrify the earth) sets ערץ beside ארץ. They are distinct roots, but both end in רץ, making the terror and its earthly object echo each other in sound.
ALSO GROWS
ʾereṣ: Earth or land.
אֶרֶץ
This is the basic form of the word translated “earth,” naming the very ground the verse says is shaken.
ʾarṣôt: Lands or territories.
אַרְצוֹת
The plural extends the same root across lands, keeping the image grounded in the physical world.
פַּחַד
paḥad
GROWS FROM
פחד
Fear, dread, or alarm.
The people enter the caves מִפְּנֵי פַּחַד (mippənê paḥad, because of fear) of the LORD. The noun and the related verb share the root, joining the named dread to the act of fearing.
ALSO GROWS
pāḥad: To fear or dread.
פָּחַד
The verb form shares the verse’s root, connecting fear as a force to the human experience of being afraid.
ʾephḥad: I will fear or be afraid.
אֶפְחָד
This first-person form makes the root personal: the same fear named in the verse can be spoken from within the one who experiences it.
THE PATTERN
When the LORD’s presence is disclosed, the ground itself trembles and people seek shelter inside it.
Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:THE THREAD
Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.Both verses use the Hebrew noun פַּחַד (paḥad, fear) in the phrase “for fear of the LORD.” Isaiah 2:10 names the hiding in rock and dust; 2:19 shows people entering rock-holes and earth-caves as the earth is shaken.
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