What Does Revelation 13:9 Mean in the King James?
If any man have an ear, let him hear.
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 ear is already present; the verse turns on whether it becomes hearing.
THE MEANING
You are addressed through a faculty you already have: the invitation is to hear. The line leaves open whether having an ear has become receiving what is said.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the assumption that having ears means you have already heard.
THE ROOT
ἀκουσάτω
akousatō
GROWS FROM
ἀκούω
akouō
To hear or listen; in context, to receive what is heard.
“hear” in this verse is akousatō. The Greek word family links hearing with both the message heard and heeding it. The verse calls for hearing as reception, while leaving open whether the listener receives what is said.
ALSO GROWS
akoē: Hearing; a report or message.
ἀκοή
The same word family can name both the act of hearing and what is heard, joining reception to the message received.
hypakouō: To heed or obey.
ὑπακούω
This compound retains akouō, showing how hearing can extend into heeding without making the two identical.
THE PATTERN
Scripture distinguishes possessing ears from truly receiving what is said.
Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.THE THREAD
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.The Greek invitation to hear repeats the same wording in both verses. Here, hearing opens toward what is said next, linking the ear to actual reception rather than mere possession.
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