What Does Psalm 105:3 Mean in the King James?

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
Psalm 105:3 · KJV
The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

The seekers’ hearts rejoice in the LORD’s name because that name reveals the nature they are seeking.

Seeking the LORD is movement toward the one whose nature is set apart, and the heart finds joy in that nature even while the seeking continues. To glory in his name is to take delight in who he is.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The verse loosens the belief that joy must wait until every question is settled: it places rejoicing among those who are still seeking the LORD.

קָדְשׁוֹ

qodsho

GROWS FROM

קדשׁ

q-d-sh

Set apart; consecrate as belonging to God.

“holy” in this verse is qodsho. The phrase joins ⁨שֵׁם⁩ (shem, name as nature) with ⁨קָדְשׁוֹ⁩ (qodsho, his set-apartness): the name discloses a nature that is wholly God’s. The heart’s joy is rooted in the character the seeker is turning toward.

ALSO GROWS

qadosh: Set apart.

קָדוֹשׁ

This branch shows that the LORD’s name carries the quality of belonging wholly to God.

miqdash: Sanctuary; set-apart place.

מִקְדָּשׁ

The same root makes set-apartness tangible as a place of meeting, not only an abstract quality.

qiddesh: Set apart; consecrate.

קִדֵּשׁ

This verb shows set-apartness as an active marking out, illuminating the distinct nature named in the verse.

הִתְהַלְלוּ

hithhalelu

GROWS FROM

הלל

h-l-l

Praise; boast.

The Hebrew verb shares its root with praise and boasting, so “glory in his name” carries the sense of making that name the ground of praise. The focus falls on celebrating the nature the name reveals.

ALSO GROWS

hallel: Praise; celebrate.

הַלֵּל

This branch makes the praise within “glory” audible.

tehillah: Praise; a song of praise.

תְּהִלָּה

This branch shows praise as a voiced response, extending the verse’s delight in the LORD’s name.

מְבַקְשֵׁי

mevaqeshei

GROWS FROM

בקשׁ

b-q-sh

Seek; request.

“seek” in this verse is mevaqeshei. The word for seekers belongs to a root that also carries the sense of requesting. Seeking here is an active turning toward what is sought, and the verse places joy within that movement.

ALSO GROWS

biqqesh: Sought; requested.

בִּקֵּשׁ

This verb shows seeking as an intentional reaching toward someone or something.

baqqashah: Request; plea.

בַּקָּשָׁה

This noun connects seeking with an expressed desire, bringing the seeker’s inward attention into view.

The heart finds joy as it seeks and trusts the LORD’s nature.

For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.
Psalm 33:21 · KJVThe heart’s rejoicing is explicitly joined to trust in the LORD’s holy name.
My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
Psalm 34:2 · KJVThe same movement from boasting in the LORD to gladness appears among those who hear.
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Romans 5:11 · KJVJoy is located in God himself, echoing the verse’s delight in the LORD’s name.
For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.
Psalm 33:21 · KJV

This verse repeats the pairing of the heart with the LORD’s holy name and makes its link to joy explicit. Psalm 105:3 holds that same joining within the lives of those who seek him.

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Psalm 105:3 KJV Meaning