What Does Isaiah 66:4 Mean in the King James?
I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
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 same Hebrew verb names both sides’ choosing, binding God’s choice of their delusions to their choice of what displeases God.
THE MEANING
A call can be refused and words can go unheard; the verse presents the chosen evil meeting God’s active judgment. God chooses their delusions and brings their fears upon them, so the consequences of their chosen path arrive as terror.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
I can refuse what is calling me and remain untouched by what I choose.
THE ROOT
אֶבְחַר
’evchar
GROWS FROM
בחר
To choose, select.
The root appears first in “I will choose” and again in “they chose.” That repetition binds their chosen course to the judgment named in the verse.
ALSO GROWS
bachir: Chosen one.
בָּחִיר
The chosen person is named through the act of selection, making choice part of their description.
mivchar: Choice; selected or choice thing.
מִבְחָר
This noun names what has been selected, echoing how the verse connects a chosen course with what follows.
שָׁמֵעוּ
shame’u
GROWS FROM
שמע
To hear, listen, heed.
“They did not hear” follows “none did answer,” linking hearing with response. The root’s sense reaches beyond sound received to listening that answers.
ALSO GROWS
shema: Hear; listen and respond.
שְׁמַע
This familiar command carries the responsive sense the verse says is absent.
shemu’ah: Report, message, or news heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
This branch names what reaches the ear as a message, sharpening the verse’s image of speech that goes unreceived.
קָרָאתִי
qara’ti
GROWS FROM
קרא
To call aloud, summon, proclaim, or read aloud.
“called” in this verse is qara’ti. The Hebrew root for calling also carries proclamation and reading aloud. The unanswered call is a voiced summons that reaches the ear but receives no response.
ALSO GROWS
miqra: Assembly or convocation; also a reading.
מִקְרָא
This branch carries the sense of people being called together, giving the call a public, summoning quality.
qeri’ah: Calling or reading aloud.
קְרִיאָה
It preserves the connection between calling and spoken words, matching the verse’s call followed by speech.
THE PATTERN
Repeatedly, refusal of a call gives way to being handed over to the course already chosen.
So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;THE THREAD
Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:Isaiah’s “called” and Zechariah’s “cried” share the Hebrew root קרא (qara, to call aloud), while both verses pair the call with שמע (shama, to hear). Zechariah makes the echo stark: the unanswered call returns as an unanswered cry.
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