What Does Psalm 107:1 Mean in the King James?

O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 107:1 · 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.

THE KEY

Thanks rests on the LORD’s goodness as faithful love that carries through every age.

THE MEANING

The LORD’s goodness is present to you as faithful love that holds through the ages. The verse locates your thanks in that enduring character, even while circumstances change.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

A hard season does not prove that the LORD’s goodness has vanished; the verse grounds its claim in love that reaches across ages.

THE ROOT

חֶסֶד

chesed

GROWS FROM

ח־ס־ד

Faithful, loyal kindness expressed within a relationship.

The word translated “mercy” holds more than a moment of pity: its word family describes loyal kindness enacted in relationship. That makes “he is good” concrete as faithful love, joining the reason for thanks to a bond that endures.

ALSO GROWS

ḥasad: To act loyally or show kindness.

חָסַד

This verb makes faithful love an action within a relationship, not merely a tender feeling.

ḥasid: A faithful, loyal, or devout person.

חָסִיד

The same word family describes a person by loyalty, showing how closely this love is tied to lived relationship.

הוֹדוּ

hodu

GROWS FROM

י־ד־ה

To acknowledge, praise, give thanks, or confess.

“give thanks” in this verse is hodu. The verb also carries the sense of acknowledgment and praise, so thanks here is a recognition spoken aloud. It responds to what the next clause declares about the LORD.

ALSO GROWS

yadah: To acknowledge, praise, give thanks, or confess.

יָדָה

This verb family links thanksgiving with openly recognizing what is true.

todah: Thanksgiving, thanks, or confession.

תּוֹדָה

The related noun shows thanksgiving as an expressed acknowledgment, not only an inward feeling.

THE PATTERN

The LORD’s goodness is expressed as faithful love that continues beyond the present moment.

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

Exodus 34:6 · KJVThe LORD’s abundant goodness is named alongside mercy, graciousness, and truth.

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 136:1 · KJVThis verse repeats the same ground for thanks: the LORD is good, and his faithful love endures.

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:39 · KJVGod’s love is described as holding across every height and depth, beyond the conditions that might seem to break it.

THE THREAD

But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;

Psalm 103:17 · KJV

Both verses use the same Hebrew word for faithful love where the KJV says “mercy.” Psalm 103:17 carries that love across the ages and into the lives of children, making its endurance relational and generational.

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