What Does Isaiah 28:16 Mean in the King James?
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
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 Hebrew for “believeth” carries the sense of firmness, so the tested stone and the one who trusts it share a steadiness that does not hurry.
THE MEANING
A tested stone is already laid as the foundation in Zion. Trust takes its character from firmness, so your footing is not made secure by hurry. What is grounded can remain steady under pressure.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that you must hurry to outrun collapse or be left unsupported. The verse locates stability in a foundation already laid and tested.
THE ROOT
הַמַּאֲמִין
ha-ma'amin
GROWS FROM
אמן
aman
to be firm, steady, reliable
The one who “believeth” is described with a word from אמן (aman), whose root sense is firmness and reliability. Beside the tested stone, trust becomes a steadiness that does not need to rush.
ALSO GROWS
emunah: firmness; trust
אֱמוּנָה
This branch shows trust as a quality that can bear weight, like the foundation in the verse.
amen: firmly; truly; so be it
אָמֵן
The familiar response carries the root’s sense of firmness, echoing the steadiness of the one who trusts.
אֶבֶן
even
GROWS FROM
א־ב־ן
even
stone
The letters invite the wordplay אָב (av, father) + בֵּן (ben, son): the stone holds father and son in one image. Here the stone is the load-bearing point on which the promise of unhurried trust rests.
ALSO GROWS
avanim: stones
אֲבָנִים
The plural keeps the image concrete: stones are materials from which a structure is formed.
avnei: stones of
אַבְנֵי
This construct form appears in compound phrases about stones, keeping the word tied to built places and foundations.
מוּסָד
musad
GROWS FROM
יסד
yasad
to establish, found, or lay a base
The foundation word belongs to the root יסד (yasad), the act of establishing something at its base. The verse repeats the foundation image, making steadiness the structure beneath trust rather than a feeling the reader has to manufacture.
ALSO GROWS
yasad: to establish or lay a foundation
יָסַד
The verb names the establishing action behind the foundation already laid in Zion.
yesod: foundation; base
יְסוֹד
This related noun makes the verse’s image explicit: what is established at the base supports what rests above it.
THE PATTERN
Trust in a proven foundation gives steadiness when pressure calls for haste.
The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.THE THREAD
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.The Hebrew word translated “believed” here shares the root אמן (aman) with Isaiah’s “believeth”: firmness and trust grow from the same seed. Isaiah gives that trust a foundation image, the tested stone, and its sign is that it does not hurry.
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