What Does Isaiah 7:4 Mean in the King James?
And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
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 verse calls the threat two smoking firebrand tails, placing its fury at the trailing edge of the fire.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks to the moment when another’s anger fills the horizon: alertness and quiet are held together. The danger is named as the smoking ends of firebrands, its heat still real and its image already trailing into smoke. Fear can be present without becoming the heart’s final shape.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that seeing a threat already makes the heart powerless.
THE ROOT
הַשְׁקֵט
hashqet
GROWS FROM
שקט
sh-q-t
To settle, be quiet, or be at rest.
“be quiet” in this verse is hashqet. The same root describes the earth as quiet in Isaiah 14:7 and appears as “quietness” paired with confidence in Isaiah 30:15. Here, settledness accompanies alert attention: the threat is seen without becoming the heart’s ruler.
ALSO GROWS
shaqetah: Was quiet, was at rest.
שָׁקְטָה
Isaiah 14:7 uses this form for the earth at rest, showing the root’s connection between quiet and the ending of tumult.
hashqet: Quietness, settledness.
הַשְׁקֵט
Isaiah 30:15 pairs this word with confidence as strength, echoing this verse’s pairing of attention and calm.
הִשָּׁמֵר
hishamer
GROWS FROM
שמר
sh-m-r
To keep, watch, or guard.
“take heed” in this verse is hishamer. The command begins with a form of shamar, a root that also gives words for a watchman and a guard. The verse holds watchful attention together with quiet; its calm is not inattentiveness.
ALSO GROWS
shomer: One who watches or guards; a watchman.
שֹׁמֵר
This branch makes the alertness inside “take heed” visible: the word carries the work of keeping watch.
mishmeret: Guard, watch, or duty of keeping.
מִשְׁמֶרֶת
This branch shows shamar as ongoing care, illuminating the verse’s call to stay attentive while remaining settled.
אַל־יֵרַךְ לְבָבְךָ
al-yeraḵ levavkha
GROWS FROM
רכך
r-k-k
To become soft or tender.
The Hebrew phrase pictures the heart becoming soft under pressure. The same root describes tenderness, so “fainthearted” carries an image of the threat pressing on the heart’s firmness.
ALSO GROWS
rakh: Soft, tender.
רַךְ
Genesis 18:7 uses this word for a tender calf, showing the concrete sense beneath the heart-language here.
rakh levav: Soft of heart; fainthearted.
רַךְ לֵבָב
Deuteronomy 20:8 uses the same phrase, making clear that the verse pictures fear as a softening of the heart.
THE PATTERN
Threat can be named plainly while alertness and inward steadiness remain joined.
For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.THE THREAD
For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.Isaiah 30:15 uses the same שקט (sh-q-t, quiet/rest) root in “quietness,” pairing it with confidence as strength. That shared root reveals the stillness here as settledness that can coexist with awake attention.
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