What Does Isaiah 65:21 Mean in the King James?
And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
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 hidden repair is that the hands that build and plant remain present to inhabit and eat what they bring forth.
THE MEANING
You build a home and dwell in it; you plant a vineyard and eat its fruit. Your labor and your life are joined: what your hands bring forth becomes a place to live and nourishment you can receive.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie that your work is destined to be taken from you dissolves: the builder inhabits, and the planter eats.
THE ROOT
וּבָנוּ
u-vanu
GROWS FROM
בנה
Build, establish, or build up.
“build” in this verse is u-vanu. The word-family of banah is linked with בֵּן (ben), “son,” connecting building with establishing a household and its continuity. Here, that building becomes a lived home for the ones who made it.
ALSO GROWS
binyan: Building or construction
בִּנְיָן
It keeps the verse’s building action visible as something established.
ben: Son
בֵּן
Its traditional connection with banah opens building toward the continuity of a household.
וְיָשָׁבוּ
ve-yashavu
GROWS FROM
ישב
Sit, dwell, settle, or remain.
Yashav holds both dwelling and settled presence. The house is not merely built; its makers remain there to inhabit it.
ALSO GROWS
moshav: Dwelling or settlement
מוֹשָׁב
It carries the root’s sense of a place where people settle.
hoshiv: Seat or settle someone
הוֹשִׁיב
It shows the root extending from dwelling to establishing someone in a place.
וְנָטְעוּ
ve-nate'u
GROWS FROM
נטע
Plant or set into the ground.
“plant” in this verse is ve-nate'u. The verb describes putting something into the earth so it can take root and grow. The planted vineyard leads directly to its planters eating its fruit: their work stays joined to its yield.
ALSO GROWS
neti'ah: Planting
נְטִיעָה
It names the act of setting growth into the ground.
mattaʿ: Plantation or planted grove
מַטָּע
It shows nata extending from planting to the place or growth established by planting.
THE PATTERN
Restoration reunites people with the homes and harvests their work produces.
Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?THE THREAD
They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.This verse repeats the same roots for build, inhabit, plant, and eat, then names the separation removed: another person taking the outcome. The promise is that the makers remain with the home and harvest their work produces.
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