What Does Jeremiah 13:15 Mean in the King James?
Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.
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
Pride is not merely feeling superior here; it is raising yourself above the very voice you are asked to hear.
THE MEANING
The LORD’s spoken word meets you now with a demand for attentive hearing, while pride lifts the self above what is being said. Hearing here reaches beyond sound toward receiving and responding.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
“I can remain above the word and still be truly listening.”
THE ROOT
תִּגְבָּהוּ
tigbahu
GROWS FROM
גבה
g-b-h
to be high, rise, or be elevated
The word translated “proud” carries the image of rising high. The verse sets that height against hearing: the self that lifts above the spoken word cannot receive it openly.
ALSO GROWS
gāḇōah: High, elevated
גָּבֹהַּ
It makes pride’s hidden image visible: the self is raised above what it hears.
gōvah: Height or elevation
גֹּבַהּ
It shows that the warning concerns a posture of being raised, not only an inward feeling.
שִׁמְעוּ
shimʿu
GROWS FROM
שמע
sh-m-ʿ
to hear, listen, and heed
“Hear” in this verse is shimʿu. The Hebrew root can hold hearing together with response. Beside “give ear” and “the LORD hath spoken,” it presents listening as receiving speech deeply enough for it to reach beyond sound.
ALSO GROWS
shemuʿah: A message or report that is heard
שְׁמוּעָה
The spoken word becomes something received through hearing, not just sound passing by.
hishmiaʿ: To make something heard; to announce
הִשְׁמִיעַ
It links the act of hearing to speech being made known, as this verse joins “hear” with “the LORD hath spoken.”
THE PATTERN
True hearing joins open attention with response instead of placing the self above the word.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:Deuteronomy opens with the same Hebrew root, שָׁמַע (shamaʿ, hear and respond). Jeremiah makes the barrier plain: pride raises the self above the voice that hearing is meant to receive.
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