What Does Isaiah 33:16 Mean in the King James?
He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
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’s word for “defence” also means a high, inaccessible refuge, and that shelter comes with bread and reliable water.
THE MEANING
This verse holds two needs together: a place beyond danger and what sustains life. The rocky refuge does not leave you to fend for yourself; bread is given, and the water is dependable. Here, safety includes both shelter and provision.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Protection can keep danger out, but cannot also meet ordinary need.
THE ROOT
מִשְׂגַּבּוֹ
misgabo
GROWS FROM
שגב
sagav
To be high or lofty; an elevated, hard-to-reach place.
“place of defence” in this verse is misgabo. The word translated “defence” carries the sense of a high refuge, so protection here is not only a barrier but a place lifted beyond reach. That echoes “on high”: two different Hebrew roots make elevation part of the refuge’s design.
ALSO GROWS
misgav: A high refuge or stronghold.
מִשְׂגָּב
This is the refuge-word from the same root, making the verse’s protection explicitly elevated.
nisgav: Lofty, exalted, or inaccessible.
נִשְׂגָּב
This branch clarifies why the refuge is secure: it is set high and out of reach.
נֶאֱמָנִים
ne'emanim
GROWS FROM
אמן
aman
To be firm, steady, or reliable.
“sure” in this verse is ne'emanim. The waters are described with a word rooted in firmness and reliability. Their assurance is practical: the refuge includes water that can be depended on.
ALSO GROWS
emunah: Steadiness; trust that leans its full weight on what is reliable.
אֱמוּנָה
The shared root links dependable water with the steadiness of trust.
amen: Firm; a settled affirmation.
אָמֵן
“Amen” carries the same sense of firmness that makes these waters sure.
מְרוֹמִים
meromim
GROWS FROM
רום
rum
To rise, be high, or be exalted.
“On high” names the dwelling as elevation, while “defence” uses another root that also carries height. The verse’s protection is pictured as a lifted place, joined to the ordinary necessities of bread and water.
ALSO GROWS
ram: High or exalted.
רָם
This adjective from the same root reinforces the verse’s language of elevation.
marom: A height or high place.
מָרוֹם
This noun names the elevated place where the verse sets the dwelling.
THE PATTERN
Scripture pictures a secure dwelling as refuge joined with provision that continues.
He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?THE THREAD
The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.“My high tower” translates a form of the same Hebrew root as Isaiah’s “place of defence”: שגב (sagav), a high refuge. Psalm 18:2 joins the LORD, the rock, and that elevated refuge in one image, opening Isaiah’s picture of rocky shelter further.
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