What Does Judges 5:31 Mean in the King James?

So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

Judges 5:31 · 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 verse holds two movements together: the LORD’s enemies disappear, while those who love him emerge like the sun in strength and leave the land at rest.

THE MEANING

What opposes the LORD is lost, while those who love him emerge into visible strength. The land rests for forty years, so victory appears both in what no longer threatens and in the quiet that follows.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The appearance of force in what opposes the LORD does not make that force final; the verse sets its end beside the rising strength of those who love him.

THE ROOT

יֹאבְדוּ

yovdu

GROWS FROM

אבד

ʾ-b-d

Perish; be lost.

The verb translated “perish” grows from ⁨אָבַד⁩ (ʾābad), meaning “perish, be lost,” a root that also gives ⁨אֲבַדּוֹן⁩ (ʾăḇaddōn), “destruction.” The enemies’ end is set against the loved ones’ emergence in the next image.

ALSO GROWS

ʾābad: Perish; be lost.

אָבַד

It is the root form behind “perish,” linking the enemies’ end with the idea of being lost.

ʾăḇaddōn: Destruction; Abaddon.

אֲבַדּוֹן

This branch carries the same root into a word for destruction, deepening the verse’s image of opposition coming to an end.

כְּצֵאת

ketset

GROWS FROM

יצא

y-ts-ʾ

Go out; come forth.

“goeth forth” in this verse is ketset. The comparison centers on the sun as it comes forth. Those who love the LORD are likened not only to the sun’s brightness, but to its emergence into view.

ALSO GROWS

yatsa: Go out; come forth.

יָצָא

This is the root verb behind the sun’s going forth in the verse.

hotsi: Bring out.

הוֹצִיא

This causative branch shares the root’s movement outward, echoing the image of emergence.

בִּגְבוּרָתוֹ

bigvurato

GROWS FROM

גבר

g-b-r

Be strong; prevail.

The sun goes forth “in its might,” from ⁨גבר⁩ (g-b-r), meaning “be strong, prevail.” This is the same root found in ⁨גִּבּוֹר⁩ (gibbor), “mighty one,” so the image is one of active strength, not mere endurance.

ALSO GROWS

gevurah: Might; strength.

גְּבוּרָה

This is the noun used in the verse’s phrase “in its might.”

gibbor: Mighty one; warrior.

גִּבּוֹר

It shows the root’s association with strength that prevails.

THE PATTERN

The end of a hostile way opens into light and rest for the LORD’s people.

For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 1:6 · KJVIt places the same ending on the ungodly’s way, showing that opposition cannot continue forever.

Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 13:43 · KJVIt carries the sun image forward, as the righteous shine forth under the Father’s governance.

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Hebrews 4:9 · KJVIt names rest as still remaining for God’s people, echoing the quiet that follows the enemies’ end.

THE THREAD

For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 1:6 · KJV

In both verses, “perish” comes from ⁨אָבַד⁩ (ʾābad), meaning “perish, be lost.” Psalm 1 applies that word to the way itself, opening Judges’ image into a deeper one: the hostile path loses its continuation as those who love the LORD emerge like the sun.

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