What Does Psalm 18:44 Mean in the King James?
As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
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
Hearing becomes response, but the verse’s final “submission” can be feigned, so obedience and its appearance are not the same thing.
THE MEANING
The report reaches you, and hearing is already poised to become a response: Hebrew uses the same root for “hearing” and “obeying.” Yet the last verb can carry feigned submission, so the verse holds a true response beside its imitation. From the outside, the two can look alike.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Outward submission does not prove that someone has inwardly yielded.
THE ROOT
שָׁמַע
shamaʿ
GROWS FROM
שמע
Hear; hear and respond.
“hear / obey” in this verse is shamaʿ. The verse uses the שמע root twice: first for the report being heard (לְשֵׁמַע), then for “they hear me” (יִשָּׁמְעוּ לִי). English separates hearing about someone from obeying them, while Hebrew lets response grow directly out of hearing.
ALSO GROWS
shemuʿah: Report, news, or something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
The report that reaches the ear is itself a branch of the root that describes the response.
shomeaʿ: One who hears; a listener.
שׁוֹמֵעַ
The same root names both the listener and the act that can become responsive obedience.
יְכַחֲשׁוּ
yekhaḥăshū
GROWS FROM
כחש
Deny, deceive, or act falsely; here, possibly feign allegiance.
The Hebrew verb rendered “submit themselves” comes from כחש, whose range includes denial and deception, as well as feigned allegiance. That shade does not erase the outward submission; it exposes the gap between a yielding posture and an inwardly true response.
ALSO GROWS
kāḥaš: To deny, deceive, or act falsely.
כָּחַשׁ
This root meaning makes the verse’s “submission” capable of being a show rather than wholehearted allegiance.
kiḥēsh: He denied or acted falsely.
כִּחֵשׁ
The same root can name a false response, bringing the possibility of pretense into the verse’s language of yielding.
THE PATTERN
Hearing becomes a response, but an outward show of yielding can still conceal a false one.
And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.THE THREAD
Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.The Hebrew verb rendered “submit themselves” in both verses is יְכַחֲשׁוּ (yekhaḥăshū), from כחש, a root that can mean to deny or act falsely. The repeated word makes the tension visible: power can draw a posture of submission, while the word leaves open whether the heart has yielded.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us