What Does Isaiah 46:12 Mean in the King James?
Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:
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 call to hear meets people far from alignment, and the next verse says that alignment itself is being brought near.
THE MEANING
You can be strong-hearted and still stand far from alignment; the verse meets you there with a call to hear and respond. Its next line says the alignment you lack is being brought near.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A strong heart proves I am already aligned.
THE ROOT
צְדָקָה
tsedaqah
GROWS FROM
צדק
To be right, just, or aligned.
This root gathers rightness, justice, and the aligned person under one seed. Here, being far from righteousness means being distant from alignment; the next verse says that distance is closing.
ALSO GROWS
tsedeq: Rightness, justice
צֶדֶק
It shows that righteousness includes the state of being rightly aligned.
tsaddiq: A righteous or just person
צַדִּיק
The same root describes both the quality of alignment and the person who embodies it.
הָרְחוֹקִים
hāreḥoqim
GROWS FROM
רחק
To be distant or go far away.
The verse names distance as a condition, not a permanent identity. The next verse uses this same root to say the righteousness will not remain far off.
ALSO GROWS
rāḥoq: Far, distant
רָחוֹק
It names the distance between the hearers and alignment.
hirḥiq: To put far away or remove to a distance
הִרְחִיק
This branch makes distance an action that can be reversed, as the next verse brings righteousness near.
שִׁמְעוּ
shimʿu
GROWS FROM
שמע
To hear, listen, and heed.
“Hearken” in this verse is shimʿu. The imperative asks for more than sound reaching the ear: it calls for hearing that receives and responds. The call is addressed directly to those described as far from alignment.
ALSO GROWS
shemaʿ: Hear and respond
שְׁמַע
It makes the verse’s opening a call into receptive action.
shemuʿah: A report or thing heard
שְׁמוּעָה
It shows the same root extending from the act of hearing to what is received through hearing.
THE PATTERN
Scripture’s call to hear opens into response and life, rather than stopping at sound received.
Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.The same root for righteousness appears here, and the same distance word is answered with “not far off.” What is far in verse 12 is being brought near here, alongside deliverance.
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