What Does Leviticus 19:32 Mean in the King James?

Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:32 · 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.

THE KEY

The verse joins visible honor for an aging face with awe before God, making reverence take shape in how another person is received.

THE MEANING

When an aging face stands before you, the verse gives recognition a visible form: you rise, and you honor. Awe of God is bound to that human encounter; reverence reaches into the way age is received. The LORD’s own name anchors both gestures.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that awe of God can remain a private feeling, separate from how an older person is treated.

THE ROOT

וְהָדַרְתָּ

vehadarta

GROWS FROM

הדר

H-D-R

To honor or adorn; to make splendid.

The verb translated “honour” shares its root with hadar, meaning splendor or majesty. The verse frames regard for age as recognizing dignity and giving it visible expression; rising makes that honor bodily.

ALSO GROWS

hadar: Splendor, majesty.

הָדָר

This noun shows the radiance carried within the root of “honour”: the aging face is met with recognition of dignity.

mehudar: Adorned, splendid, distinguished.

מְהֻדָּר

This related form gives honor a visible quality, echoed in the verse’s outward gesture of rising.

THE PATTERN

Age is treated as a visible bearer of dignity and wisdom, deserving recognition in the way people meet and address one another.

The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.

Proverbs 16:31 · KJVAge appears as a crown, making its dignity visible rather than incidental.

With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.

Job 12:12 · KJVLong life is joined with understanding, giving age a place in the community’s wisdom.

Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;

1 Timothy 5:1 · KJVThe elder is addressed through a form of respect that shapes the relationship itself.

THE THREAD

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

Leviticus 19:15 · KJV

The same Hebrew root for “honour” appears in the warning against honoring the face of the mighty in judgment. Together, the verses hold regard for age alongside impartial justice: dignity is recognized without letting status bend judgment.

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