What Does Jeremiah 48:16 Mean in the King James?
The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.
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 word near carries motion: calamity is approaching even as the affliction itself gathers speed.
THE MEANING
Moab’s calamity is near, and its affliction is speeding toward arrival. The verse holds approach and acceleration together, bringing the coming trouble to the threshold.
THE ROOT
קָרוֹב
qarov
GROWS FROM
קרב
to approach, draw near
English can make near sound like a measurement of distance alone, but this root holds the motion of approaching inside it. The calamity is not only close; it is coming toward Moab.
ALSO GROWS
qarav: to approach, draw near
קָרַב
The verb gives motion to the adjective: what is near is in the act or state of approaching.
qorban: an offering; something brought near
קָרְבָּן
This branch also carries the root’s movement of bringing near, showing that the shared seed is approach.
מָהֲרָה
maharah
GROWS FROM
מהר
to hasten, be swift
“hasteth” in this verse is maharah. The Hebrew makes the affliction itself the one that hurries. Together with qarov, the wording gives trouble both a direction toward Moab and momentum.
ALSO GROWS
mahir: swift, quick
מָהִיר
This form describes swiftness as a quality; here the affliction carries that speed in its movement.
meherah: quickly, soon
מְהֵרָה
This form names the speed of an event, echoing how quickly the affliction advances.
THE PATTERN
A warning becomes urgent when its language closes the distance between what is coming and the present.
The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.THE THREAD
The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.Zephaniah repeats the same Hebrew roots: קרב (q-r-b) for near and מהר (m-h-r) for hastening. The pairing shows that nearness and acceleration are joined in the wording itself.
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