What Does Isaiah 7:5 Mean in the King James?

Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,

Isaiah 7:5 · 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.

THE KEY

The threat is already coordinated: the Hebrew says they have counseled against you, so the danger begins as a shared plan before it appears as action.

THE MEANING

When hostility gathers around you, the verse names its first form: people align their counsel against you and begin to give the plan words. It calls that intent evil plainly, while leaving the outcome unstated.

THE ROOT

יָעַץ

yāʿaṣ

GROWS FROM

י־ע־ץ

y-ʿ-ṣ

To advise, deliberate, or form a plan.

The verb shares its root with ⁨עֵצָה⁩ (ʿēṣāh), the counsel itself, and ⁨יוֹעֵץ⁩ (yōʿēṣ), a counselor. Hebrew holds together the people advising, the act of planning, and the plan they shape: the threat is a coordinated intention already being voiced.

ALSO GROWS

ʿēṣāh: Counsel, advice, or plan.

עֵצָה

This noun names the formed plan contained in the verb: the verse describes deliberate intent, not merely vague hostility.

yōʿēṣ: Counselor or adviser.

יוֹעֵץ

This branch names the person who gives counsel, making visible the people aligned in shaping the plan.

THE PATTERN

A hostile plan can gather and speak, but its declaration does not by itself decide what comes to pass.

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

Psalm 2:2 · KJVLike Isaiah 7:5, the verse shows rulers joining counsel against someone and beginning to voice their purpose.

Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

Isaiah 8:10 · KJVThe verse follows gathered counsel to its limit: a plan may be formed and spoken without standing.

For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Acts 4:28 · KJVThe verse places the outcome within God’s counsel, showing that human opposition is not the only counsel shaping what comes to pass.

THE THREAD

Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

Isaiah 8:10 · KJV

The same Hebrew root ⁨י־ע־ץ⁩ (y-ʿ-ṣ) names counsel in both verses. Isaiah 8:10 carries the thought further: counsel can be gathered and spoken, yet it does not necessarily become the outcome.

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