What Does Isaiah 7:7 Mean in the King James?
Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
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 denied twice: it will neither gain its footing nor come into being.
THE MEANING
A danger that feels settled is still not self-establishing. The Lord’s word puts a boundary around it: it cannot take its stand, and it does not come to be.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A threat that has been spoken has already decided what will happen.
THE ROOT
תָּקוּם
tāqūm
GROWS FROM
קום
qûm
Rise, stand, arise.
The Hebrew carries the sense of taking a stand or gaining footing, not merely remaining in place. Paired with the next verb, it says the threat neither establishes itself nor becomes.
ALSO GROWS
wayyāqom: And he or it arose.
וַיָּקָם
This form shows the root’s basic movement into an upright or active position, the very movement denied here.
hēqîm: Raise up, establish.
הֵקִים
The causative form brings out the sense of making something stand: the threat cannot establish itself.
תִהְיֶה
tihyeh
GROWS FROM
היה
hāyāh
Be, become; by extension, happen.
The phrase translated “come to pass” is rooted in being and becoming. The verse denies not just the threat’s footing, but its becoming reality.
ALSO GROWS
hāyāh: Be, become.
הָיָה
The basic verb makes clear that what is denied here is the threat’s becoming.
wayhî: And it was; and it came to pass.
וַיְהִי
This familiar narrative form uses the same root, showing how English “came to pass” can carry the simpler sense “became” or “was.”
THE PATTERN
A threatened outcome does not become inevitable merely because it is spoken; the LORD’s word determines what stands.
There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.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 repeats the root קום (qûm, “rise, stand”) in “it shall not stand.” The repetition reveals that a threat can be spoken without gaining footing; its declaration alone does not make it real.
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