What Does Leviticus 25:18 Mean in the King James?
Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.
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 binds secure dwelling to a word for safety that also carries the sense of trust and confidence.
THE MEANING
The verse addresses your present dwelling: the place you inhabit is secure as decrees are guarded and judgments are enacted. Its word for “safety” also carries the sense of trust and confidence, joining outward security with the inward ability to settle.
THE ROOT
לָבֶטַח
lāveṭaḥ
GROWS FROM
בטח
b-ṭ-ḥ
Trust, confidence, or feeling secure.
The word rendered “safety” belongs to the same root as trust and confidence. The promise holds both outward security and the inward certainty that lets you settle without fear.
ALSO GROWS
bāṭaḥ: To trust or feel secure.
בָּטַח
This verb shows the trust contained in the word translated “safety.”
mivṭāḥ: Security, confidence, or refuge.
מִבְטָח
This branch makes the root’s movement between inward confidence and a secure place visible.
תִּשְׁמְרוּ
tišmerū
GROWS FROM
שמר
š-m-r
To keep watch, guard, or preserve.
“keep” in this verse is tišmerū. The keeping here carries the sense of active guarding. The verse links secure dwelling with a way of life in which judgments are watched over and put into practice.
ALSO GROWS
šōmēr: A watcher, watchman, or guardian.
שֹׁמֵר
This branch reveals the watchful quality within “keep.”
mišmeret: A watch, charge, or guard.
מִשְׁמֶרֶת
It shows keeping as an ongoing responsibility that protects what has been entrusted.
וִישַׁבְתֶּם
višavtem
GROWS FROM
ישב
y-š-b
To sit, remain, or dwell.
“dwell” in this verse is višavtem. The verb belongs to a root of sitting and remaining, so the promise is settled inhabitation, not passing shelter. The verse moves from guarded practice to a place where you can remain.
ALSO GROWS
mōšāv: A dwelling place or settlement.
מוֹשָׁב
This branch brings out the settled place contained in the verb “dwell.”
tōšāv: A resident or settler.
תּוֹשָׁב
It shows the same root describing someone who remains in a place.
THE PATTERN
When a way of order is guarded and enacted, dwelling can become secure.
And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.THE THREAD
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.Psalm 4:8 uses the same Hebrew word לָבֶטַח (lāveṭaḥ, “in safety”) and pairs it with lying down and sleeping. It reveals that the security named here is also the confidence in which a person can rest.
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