What Does Isaiah 30:21 Mean in the King James?
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
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 way is a trodden course, and the voice names it as you move and turn.
THE MEANING
Direction reaches you in motion: a word from behind names the way beneath your feet. As you turn, the voice joins hearing to walking, giving the next stretch of the path shape now.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie this undoes is that you must see the whole route before taking a step; here, direction comes as you move and turn.
THE ROOT
הַדֶּרֶךְ
haderekh
GROWS FROM
דרך
d-r-k
Tread or step; the noun names a path or course associated with treading.
The noun for a way shares its root with the verb for treading: a path is a course entered by steps. Here, the instruction is more than abstract orientation, the named way is something your feet enter.
ALSO GROWS
derek: Way, road, path, or course.
דֶּרֶךְ
This is the word Isaiah uses: the direction is a route to enter, not merely an idea to recognize.
darak: To tread, step, or march.
דָּרַךְ
This verb shares the seed of “way,” joining the route to the act of moving along it.
דָּבָר
davar
GROWS FROM
דבר
d-b-r
To speak; as a noun, a word, matter, or affair.
English “word” can sound like a phrase detached from its subject, while davar can also mean a matter or thing. The voice behind you gives more than sound: it names a concrete direction, “This is the way.”
ALSO GROWS
dibber: Spoke or speaks; to say.
דִּבֵּר
The spoken word in the verse belongs to a root that directly carries the act of speaking.
devarim: Words, matters, or things.
דְּבָרִים
This plural form shows how the root can hold both speech and the matter being spoken about.
תִּשְׁמַעְנָה
tishmaʿnah
GROWS FROM
שמע
sh-m-ʿ
Hear or listen; when the context calls for it, heed and respond.
“hear” in this verse is tishmaʿnah. The verse does not leave hearing as passive reception: the heard word is followed by the command to walk. The sentence itself binds listening to response, so the direction becomes visible in movement.
ALSO GROWS
shamaʿ: To hear or listen.
שָׁמַע
This is the root verb behind the ears hearing the word.
shemuʿah: A report, news, or something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
The branch keeps the connection between hearing and the message that reaches the hearer.
THE PATTERN
Guidance is heard in motion, shaping the way as the person continues to walk.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:THE THREAD
I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.Isaiah’s “way” and Proverbs’ “way” use the same Hebrew word, דֶּרֶךְ (derek, way or path). Proverbs names it as wisdom’s course, opening Isaiah’s direction as a way that can be taught and walked.
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