What Does Isaiah 50:10 Mean in the King James?

Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.

Isaiah 50:10 · 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

Trust survives darkness by leaning on the LORD’s nature, not on the light the reader lacks.

THE MEANING

You may fear the LORD and heed the voice of his servant while still walking in darkness without light. The verse places trust in the LORD’s name, his nature, and makes that trust concrete as leaning your weight on God. Darkness does not mean that this ground of trust is gone.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The lie that trust must wait until the way is visible dissolves here: the verse speaks of trust precisely alongside darkness without light.

THE ROOT

יִבְטַח

yivtaḥ

GROWS FROM

בטח

b-ṭ-ḥ

To feel secure; to trust.

The verb ⁨בָּטַח⁩ (batach, trust or feel secure) carries security within trust itself; ⁨מִבְטָח⁩ (mivtaḥ, refuge or confidence) is one branch of that root. The verse directs this reliance toward ⁨יְהוָה⁩’s ⁨שֵׁם⁩ (shem, name as nature), giving trust an anchor when visible light is absent.

ALSO GROWS

betach: Security; securely or safely.

בֶּטַח

This branch shows the security carried within the verse’s act of trust, even while the speaker has no light.

mivtaḥ: Refuge; confidence or something relied upon.

מִבְטָח

It makes the verse’s movement clear: trust rests on a source of refuge when sight offers no direction.

וְיִשָּׁעֵן

wəyishshaʿen

GROWS FROM

שׁען

sh-ʿ-n

To lean on; support oneself; rely.

The Hebrew behind “stay upon” gives the image of leaning, with one’s weight resting on support. Beside batach, this makes trust both security and posture: God is the one you lean on in the dark.

ALSO GROWS

mishʿan: Support; something leaned upon.

מִשְׁעָן

This branch gives a concrete picture of the reliance expressed by “stay upon his God.”

mishʿenet: A staff; a support for leaning.

מִשְׁעֶנֶת

The staff makes visible the bodily shape of the verse’s trust: weight rests on what can hold it.

THE PATTERN

Trust in God does not depend on visible guidance; it can anchor the one still walking without light.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5 · KJVThe same Hebrew roots for trust and leaning appear together, showing trust as reliance that does not rest on one’s own understanding.

Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.

Micah 7:8 · KJVDarkness remains part of the speaker’s present experience, yet it does not sever their relation to the LORD as light.

(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

2 Corinthians 5:7 · KJVThe verse names a walk that continues without sight, echoing Isaiah’s trust amid the absence of light.

THE THREAD

Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

Psalm 37:3 · KJV

Psalm 37:3 uses the same root ⁨בטח⁩ (batach, trust or feel secure), then speaks of dwelling and being fed. Trust is shown as ground beneath continuing life, just as Isaiah names God as support while darkness remains.

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