What Does Jeremiah 23:18 Mean in the King James?
For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?
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 question makes hearing a matter of presence: has the speaker stood within the LORD’s counsel and attended to the word?
THE MEANING
The question addresses every claim to speak for God now: has that voice stood in the LORD’s counsel, seen, and listened? The word is not merely caught in passing; it is attended to, then heard. Confidence alone cannot certify a message; the verse asks whether there is real encounter and careful reception.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Confidence or religious fluency proves that a voice has heard God. This verse dissolves that claim by asking whether the speaker has stood in the LORD’s counsel and actually attended to the word.
THE ROOT
סוֹד
sod
GROWS FROM
סוד
s-w-d
To confer in confidence; close counsel shared within a trusted circle.
The word for counsel also carries the sense of a confidence or secret shared among those within the circle. The question is whether the speaker has entered that disclosure, not merely formed an opinion about it.
ALSO GROWS
sod: Confidential counsel or a close council.
סוֹד
This is the word Jeremiah uses for the LORD’s counsel, placing the speaker inside a shared confidence.
sod: A secret or confidence entrusted to someone.
סוֹד
This sense appears in other passages about what the LORD reveals or shares, showing that counsel here involves disclosure.
הִקְשִׁיב
hiqshiv
GROWS FROM
קשב
q-sh-b
To listen closely and give attentive heed.
The word translated “marked” describes focused listening, not simply noticing that a word was spoken. The verse distinguishes attending to the word from claiming to have heard it.
ALSO GROWS
hiqshiv: Listened attentively; paid heed.
הִקְשִׁיב
This is the verb in the verse: the word is given close attention.
maqshiv: One who listens attentively.
מַקְשִׁיב
The same root describes the listener’s posture, making attention part of how the word is received.
וַיִּשְׁמָע
wayyishma
GROWS FROM
שמע
sh-m-ʿ
To hear or listen; in commands that call for obedience, to hear and respond.
“heard” in this verse is wayyishma. The verse uses hearing alongside seeing and attentive listening, making it more than sound reaching the ear. The word is received as something perceived and given heed to.
ALSO GROWS
shema: Hear; listen, and respond when obedience is implied.
שְׁמַע
This familiar form shows how hearing can include a response, though here the emphasis is on actually receiving the word.
shemuah: A report or news; something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
This branch makes the link between hearing and what is received or carried as a report.
THE PATTERN
The LORD’s word is received through disclosure and attentive hearing, not asserted from a distance.
Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.THE THREAD
Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.Amos uses the same Hebrew word, סוֹד (sod), for the LORD’s secret counsel that Jeremiah uses here. The question becomes concrete: the word belongs to disclosure received within the LORD’s confidence.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us