What Does Jeremiah 42:19 Mean in the King James?
The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day.
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
“Admonished” carries the force of testimony: the return to Egypt has already been named and witnessed as a return to constriction.
THE MEANING
The verse meets you where fear calls the constricting place safety: the warning names that return as a danger already seen. You are not left to mistake the narrowing for deliverance; the word sets the boundary plainly.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The false belief that a familiar place of constriction is safe simply because it is known.
THE ROOT
מִצְרַיִם
Mitzrayim Egypt
GROWS FROM
צ־ר־ר
ṣ-r-r
To press in, bind, or constrict; צַר (ṣar) names what is narrow.
מִצְרַיִם (Mitzrayim, Egypt) is read through צַר (ṣar, narrow) and its twofold -ayim ending. The name turns “Go ye not into Egypt” into a warning against returning to constriction when fear presents it as refuge.
ALSO GROWS
ṣar: Narrow, constricted; also distressing.
צַר
It makes the Egypt named in the verse carry the image of a narrowed place.
mēṣar: A confined or distressed place.
מֵצַר
It connects the prohibited return with the experience of being pressed into narrowness.
הֵעִדֹתִי
hēʿidōtî I have
GROWS FROM
ע־ו־ד
ʿ-w-d
To testify, bear witness, or solemnly warn.
The word translated “admonished” carries the force of testimony, not merely advice. With “this day,” the warning is placed on record, like the witnessed choice in Deuteronomy 30:19.
ALSO GROWS
ʿēd: A witness who testifies to what is seen or known.
עֵד
It shows that the warning bears witness to the danger of the return.
ʿēdût: Testimony or a witnessed declaration.
עֵדוּת
It reveals the weight behind “I have admonished you this day”: the warning stands as testimony.
THE PATTERN
What fear presents as refuge can be a return to constriction, while the way toward deliverance leads out from under its power.
That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.THE THREAD
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:The verb translated “admonished” shares the root עוּד (ʿ-w-d, testify or warn) with “I call heaven and earth to record.” Both verses mark a word spoken “this day” as witness to a choice and its consequences.
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