What Does Psalm 104:15 Mean in the King James?
And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.
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
Wine and bread meet on the same Hebrew heart, לְבַב (levav, heart), as gladness and support, while oil lets that inward well-being show on the face.
THE MEANING
In your life, nourishment can register as gladness in the heart, brightness in the face, and steadiness to carry on. The verse holds enjoyment, radiance, and strength together in ordinary provision.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that daily provision only prevents hunger gives way to a fuller picture: nourishment also touches emotion, appearance, and endurance.
THE ROOT
יְשַׂמַּח
yəsammaḥ makes glad
GROWS FROM
שמח
ś-m-ḥ
To rejoice, be glad, or bring gladness.
“maketh glad” in this verse is yəsammaḥ makes glad. The verse’s word for making the heart glad belongs to the same root as joy itself. That root appears again when the LORD rejoices in his works, linking human gladness with the life of creation.
ALSO GROWS
śimḥāh: Joy or gladness.
שִׂמְחָה
This noun names the gladness the wine brings to the heart.
śāmēaḥ: Glad or joyful.
שָׂמֵחַ
The related adjective shows the same root describing a state of joy, not only something that causes it.
יִסְעָד
yisʿad supports or
GROWS FROM
סעד
s-ʿ-d
To support, sustain, or uphold.
“strengtheneth” in this verse is yisʿad supports or. The bread does not merely add something to the heart; its verb describes holding it up. A related word for a meal, seʿūdāh, carries the sense of food as sustaining support.
ALSO GROWS
sāʿad: To support, sustain, or uphold.
סָעַד
This verb names the sustaining action that the verse attributes to bread.
seʿūdāh: A meal or banquet.
סְעוּדָה
Its connection to the support-root echoes the verse’s picture of food as what sustains a person.
THE PATTERN
Scripture portrays material provision as nourishment that sustains embodied life and makes room for delight.
Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;THE THREAD
The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.The verb for the LORD rejoicing shares the root שמח (ś-m-ḥ, rejoice) with the word translated “maketh glad” here. Human gladness and the LORD’s rejoicing are both named within the life of creation.
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