What Does Psalm 111:5 Mean in the King James?

He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.
Psalm 111:5 · 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 food given now is covenant remembered across the ages made tangible.

Provision reaches you from the One whose covenant remains in view; this verse holds ordinary food and enduring faithfulness together. Your awe of God is met with care, and that covenant remembrance is present in what sustains you.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The belief that covenant care is distant or abstract dissolves here: it appears as food given and faithfulness kept in remembrance.

יִזְכֹּר

yizkor

GROWS FROM

זכר

Remember, recall, call to mind.

“Mindful” can sound like a passing thought, while ⁨זכר⁩ (zakar, remember) also gives rise to words for memorial and remembrance. Joined to covenant, it shows that what God remembers remains in view and is expressed here as provision.

ALSO GROWS

zikaron: Memorial, remembrance.

זִכָּרוֹן

This related word gives remembrance a lasting form, illuminating the covenant that remains in view.

hizkir: Mention, bring to remembrance.

הִזְכִּיר

This form shows remembrance can be brought into expression, rather than kept as a private thought.

נָתַן

natan

GROWS FROM

נתן

Give, set, place.

The word translated “given” is ⁨נָתַן⁩ (natan, give), a root that also carries the sense of setting or placing. The food is not only promised in the abstract; it is given into the present.

ALSO GROWS

mattan: Gift, present.

מַתָּן

This noun makes the giving in the verse legible as a gift received.

mattanah: Gift, offering.

מַתָּנָה

Another noun from ⁨נתן⁩ (natan, give) keeps the focus on provision arriving through an act of giving.

יָרֵא

yare

GROWS FROM

ירא

Fear, stand in awe.

The phrase refers to those who fear God; this root can carry the sense of awe as well as fear. With God as its object, awe brings out the reverence in the verse’s description of those receiving provision.

ALSO GROWS

yir’ah: Fear, awe.

יִרְאָה

This noun carries the same range of reverence and fear present in the verse.

mora: Dread, awe.

מוֹרָא

This related form shows the root’s weight and intensity when it names a response to what is greater than oneself.

Enduring divine care becomes tangible through provision in the present.

The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
Psalm 145:15 · KJVThe same root ⁨נתן⁩ (natan, give) joins divine giving to food received in its season.
Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 136:25 · KJVFood for all flesh is placed beside enduring faithful love, joining provision with lasting care.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Matthew 6:11 · KJVThe request holds provision in the present day as something received through giving.
He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
Psalm 105:8 · KJV

Psalm 105:8 uses the same Hebrew root ⁨זכר⁩ (zakar, remember) beside covenant and permanence. That parallel opens Psalm 111:5 further: covenant remembrance remains in view across generations, and here its care appears as food.

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Psalm 111:5 KJV Meaning