What Does Isaiah 40:5 Mean in the King James?

And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah 40:5 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The LORD’s weight is uncovered for all flesh to see together.

THE MEANING

The LORD’s weight is no longer hidden; it becomes visible to all flesh at once. What is spoken stands as the ground for this shared seeing. The verse reaches beyond private perception to a sight held in common.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

This undoes the belief that the LORD’s presence is only visible to a select few: here, all flesh sees it together.

THE ROOT

כָּבוֹד

kavod

GROWS FROM

כבד

k-b-d

To be heavy; weight.

English “glory” can sound like honor or radiance, while ⁨כָּבוֹד⁩ (kavod, weight) carries the sense of something weighty. The verse shows that weight becoming visible to all flesh.

ALSO GROWS

kaved: heavy, weighty

כָּבֵד

The adjective shares the root’s basic sense of heaviness, bringing the weight inside “glory” into view.

kavod: weight, honor, glory

כָּבוֹד

The verse’s word holds these senses together: the LORD’s glory is the LORD’s weight.

וְנִגְלָה

weniglah

GROWS FROM

גלה

g-l-h

To uncover, disclose, make visible.

“revealed” in this verse is weniglah. The revelation is an uncovering: what was hidden becomes visible. The verse presents seeing as what follows when the covering is removed.

ALSO GROWS

galah: uncover, reveal

גָּלָה

This active form names the uncovering that lets the LORD’s weight be seen.

niglah: be uncovered, be revealed

נִגְלָה

This form describes the weight becoming visible, as it does in the verse.

דִּבֵּר

dibber

GROWS FROM

דבר

d-b-r

To speak; the root also forms words for a word, matter, or thing.

The root joins speaking with the word or matter spoken. Here, the mouth’s utterance and the coming-to-view of the LORD’s weight belong in one statement.

ALSO GROWS

davar: word, matter, thing

דָּבָר

This noun shows the root’s reach from speech to the matter expressed.

dibber: speak, utter

דִּבֵּר

The verse uses this form for what the LORD’s mouth has spoken.

THE PATTERN

When the LORD’s weight is revealed, its reach extends to shared sight across all flesh.

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Habakkuk 2:14 · KJVThe LORD’s glory fills the earth, making its presence known across the whole world.

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.

Isaiah 52:10 · KJVThe LORD uncovers his strength before the nations, and the earth’s farthest reaches see.

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Luke 3:6 · KJVThe same horizon appears: all flesh sees what God brings into view.

THE THREAD

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

Isaiah 60:1 · KJV

Isaiah 60:1 uses ⁨כָּבוֹד⁩ (kavod, weight), the same word at the heart of Isaiah 40:5. There, all flesh sees the LORD’s weight uncovered; here, that weight rises upon a person.

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