What Does Psalm 81:8 Mean in the King James?
Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken 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
English uses “hear” and “hearken” for one repeated Hebrew verb, making the verse’s central movement hearing that becomes response.
THE MEANING
You are addressed now with testimony and a call to hear and respond. The repeated call leaves your response open rather than assuming it has already happened.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that hearing is complete once words reach your ears.
THE ROOT
שְׁמַע
shemaʿ
GROWS FROM
שמע
Hear, listen, heed; hear and respond.
“Hear / hearken” in this verse is shemaʿ. The first “Hear” and the later “hearken” are forms of the same root, שמע (shamaʿ, “hear and respond”). English makes them sound like separate acts, while the Hebrew repeats one call: receive what is said and answer it.
ALSO GROWS
shamaʿ: To hear, listen, or heed.
שָׁמַע
This verb appears twice in the verse, first as a direct call and then in the conditional “if thou wilt hearken.”
shemuʿah: A report or tidings; something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
This related noun shows the root can name what reaches the listener as well as the act of listening.
THE PATTERN
Hearing becomes complete as the heard word finds a response.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:Deuteronomy begins with שְׁמַע (shemaʿ, “hear and respond”), the same root repeated in Psalm 81:8. The psalm makes the repetition explicit: hear, then, if you hear, respond.
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