What Does Isaiah 33:13 Mean in the King James?
Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
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 far hear what God has done, while the near are called to know that divine might is power already at work.
THE MEANING
Wherever you find yourself, far off or near, the verse reaches you: what God has done can be heard from a distance, and God’s might can be known close at hand. The line moves from hearing deeds to knowing the power they disclose.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that distance makes you unreachable, or that closeness alone means you know God’s power.
THE ROOT
וּדְעוּ
u-deʿu
GROWS FROM
ידע
y-d-ʿ
Know, perceive, recognize.
“acknowledge” in this verse is u-deʿu. The Hebrew imperative means “know.” The near are called beyond hearing into recognition of the might whose acts can be heard.
ALSO GROWS
daʿat: Knowledge, perception.
דַּעַת
It shows that the call reaches toward knowing, not merely repeating a claim about God’s power.
yodea: A person who knows.
יוֹדֵעַ
The same root describes the knower as well as the act of knowing, making recognition a lived relation.
קְרֹבִים
qerovim
GROWS FROM
קרב
q-r-b
Approach, draw near.
English presents “near” as a location; the Hebrew belongs to the root of approaching, also found in the word for “drawing near.” Nearness carries the sense of relation and movement, giving the call to know God’s might an immediacy beyond physical distance.
ALSO GROWS
qarav: To approach, come near.
קָרַב
The root makes nearness an active relation rather than a fixed place.
qorbān: A drawing near; an offering.
קָרְבָּן
This branch preserves the root’s sense of approach within a word the English often treats only as an object.
גְּבֻרָתִי
gevurati
GROWS FROM
גבר
g-b-r
Be strong, prevail.
The word for might grows from a root of strength and prevailing, suggesting effective power rather than an attribute detached from action. The verse pairs this might with what God has done, presenting power through its deeds.
ALSO GROWS
gāvar: To be strong, prevail.
גָּבַר
It shows the active force contained in the word translated “might.”
gibbôr: A mighty one, warrior.
גִּבּוֹר
The same root describes one who embodies or exercises prevailing strength.
THE PATTERN
God’s enacted work makes divine power recognizable to people near and far.
Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:THE THREAD
But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.Isaiah’s קְרֹבִים (qerovim, near) and the Psalm’s קִרְבַת (qirvat, drawing near) come from קרב (q-r-b, approach). The Psalm frames nearness as a relation that opens into declaring God’s works, echoing Isaiah’s movement from heard deeds to known might.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us