What Does Jeremiah 27:4 Mean in the King James?

And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;

Jeremiah 27:4 · 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.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The messenger carries authority that does not originate in the messenger.

THE MEANING

This verse shows a message moving through a chain of authority: a messenger receives a charge, then carries words to those over him. Its source is named before its content, so the person relaying the words is not their origin.

THE ROOT

וְצִוִּיתָ

wəṣivvîtā

GROWS FROM

צוה

tsavah

to command or charge

“command” in this verse is wəṣivvîtā. The verb makes this a charge entrusted to the messengers: their speech is assigned, not self-originated. The verse names the source of that charge before giving its message.

ALSO GROWS

mitzvah: commandment or instruction

מִצְוָה

The same root links this personal charge to instruction that carries authority.

tsav: command or charge

צַו

This form keeps the sense of an assigned task visible in the messengers’ role.

לֵאמֹר

lē’mōr

GROWS FROM

אמר

amar

to say or utter

The same root appears in the instruction to say and again in the words, “Thus shall ye say.” The repeated speech-act frames the message as something received and then carried onward.

ALSO GROWS

emor: say, as a command

אֱמֹר

This form shows speech itself can be given as an assigned action.

imrah: utterance or word

אִמְרָה

This noun presents a saying as a word that can be carried, not merely a sound made.

THE PATTERN

A messenger carries words whose authority comes from the one who sends them.

Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.

Exodus 7:2 · KJVThe words pass from command to Moses, from Moses to Aaron, and from Aaron to Pharaoh.

And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.

Ezekiel 2:7 · KJVThe speaker carries words identified as belonging to their source, whether or not the hearers receive them.

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:20 · KJVThe ambassador’s appeal moves through a human voice while its authority is named as belonging to another.

THE THREAD

But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

Jeremiah 1:7 · KJV

Both verses use ⁨צוה⁩ (tsavah, “command or charge”) for speech that is assigned by another. Jeremiah 27:4 shows the charge moving through messengers to their masters; Jeremiah 1:7 makes explicit that the one who speaks carries what has been given.

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