What Does 1 Chronicles 16:24 Mean in the King James?
Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.
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
God’s weight is made known as extraordinary works are recounted across the boundaries between peoples.
THE MEANING
The verse gives the reader a public horizon: God’s weight becomes known as his extraordinary works are recounted among peoples. The telling carries those works beyond a single community, toward all nations.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The idea that God’s glory belongs only within one religious in-group is undone by the verse’s widening reach: among the nations, among all peoples.
THE ROOT
כְּבוֹדוֹ
kevodô
GROWS FROM
כבד
To be heavy; weight or significance.
Kavod (כָּבוֹד, weight or glory) carries the root image of weight: what has substance and consequence. Here, that weight is set beside works that can be recounted among peoples.
ALSO GROWS
kaved: heavy, weighty
כָּבֵד
Its sense of heaviness gives the word for glory its image of consequential weight.
kavod: weight, honor, glory
כָּבוֹד
The verse’s glory belongs to this family of weight, something substantial made known.
סַפְּרוּ
sapperu
GROWS FROM
ספר
To count, recount, or give an account.
The verb carries the sense of recounting, giving an account of what has happened. Its family includes words for a book and a number, so “declare” can suggest making the works legible through telling.
ALSO GROWS
saphar: count, recount
סָפַר
This is the verb family behind the command to tell of the works.
sefer: book, scroll
סֵפֶר
A recounting can be preserved as a written account.
mispar: number, count
מִסְפָּר
The shared root links telling with counting or giving an account.
נִפְלְאוֹתָיו
nifla'otav
GROWS FROM
פלא
To be extraordinary or wonderful; to exceed the ordinary.
“marvellous works” in this verse is nifla'otav. The word for these works comes from a root for what is extraordinary. The verse does not present them as private wonders: they are told among peoples, where their unusual character can be encountered.
ALSO GROWS
pele: wonder, marvel
פֶּלֶא
This noun names the extraordinary quality carried by the works in the verse.
nifla: wonderful, extraordinary
נִפְלָא
This form describes what stands beyond the ordinary.
nifla'ot: wonders, extraordinary acts
נִפְלָאוֹת
This plural form is the same family as the verse’s “marvellous works.”
THE PATTERN
God’s works become known across peoples through public telling.
O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:THE THREAD
Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.“Wonders” in Psalm 77:14 comes from the same root, פלא (pala, to be extraordinary or wonderful), as “marvellous works” here. The psalm also places God’s strength among the people, showing how extraordinary works become publicly known.
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