What Does Isaiah 49:3 Mean in the King James?
And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
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
Here, “glorified” carries the sense of being made splendid: the speaker’s beauty becomes visible in the servant.
THE MEANING
The voice names Israel as its servant and says its own splendor becomes visible in him. You meet a present image of service as the place where that beauty appears.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the assumption that the servant stands outside the place of splendor: the voice locates its own beauty in Israel.
THE ROOT
אֶתְפָּאָר
’etpa’ar
GROWS FROM
פאר
pa’ar
To adorn, make splendid, or glorify.
The word translated “glorified” belongs to the language of adornment and visible beauty. The verse places that splendor “in” the servant, so glory is revealed through Israel.
ALSO GROWS
tif’eret: Beauty, splendor, or ornament
תִּפְאֶרֶת
This branch makes the beauty within “glorified” easier to hear.
pe’er: An ornament or headdress
פְּאֵר
This concrete adornment shows how the root can name splendor made visible.
עַבְדִּי
‘avdi
GROWS FROM
עבד
avad
To work or serve.
“Servant” grows from the same root as service and labor. Beside the root for adornment, it joins service with the place where splendor is seen.
ALSO GROWS
eved: Servant
עֶבֶד
This is the noun form used for the one named in the verse.
avodah: Work or service
עֲבוֹדָה
This branch makes clear that the servant’s name is tied to the act of serving.
THE PATTERN
The text repeatedly presents a people as the place where the LORD’s beauty and splendor become visible.
Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.THE THREAD
For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.The Hebrew verb translated “glorified” in Isaiah 49:3 shares the root פאר (pa’ar) with “beautify” in this verse. That shared root lets you hear glory as splendor made visible among the people.
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