What Does Psalm 115:1 Mean in the King James?
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
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
The repeated “not unto us” shifts the weight of honor toward the LORD’s name, toward the faithful love and truth that reveal its nature.
THE MEANING
The verse places honor in the LORD’s nature: faithful love and truth. That nature is present and gives weight to the name the verse calls upon.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that honor rests on human credit; here, the reason for giving glory is the LORD’s faithful love and truth.
THE ROOT
כָּבוֹד
kavod
GROWS FROM
כבד
k-b-d
To be heavy or weighty.
English “glory” can sound like radiance alone, but כָּבוֹד carries the sense of weight. The verse gives weight to the LORD’s name, whose nature is shown in faithful love and truth.
ALSO GROWS
kaved: Heavy, weighty.
כָּבֵד
It shares the root’s sense of weight and helps show the concrete image beneath “glory.”
kibbed: To honor or treat as weighty.
כִּבֵּד
This verb makes the link between weight and giving honor explicit.
חַסְדְּךָ
chasdekha
GROWS FROM
חסד
ḥ-s-d
Faithful, loyal love.
“mercy” in this verse is chasdekha. The verse grounds the honor given to the name in faithful love. This is not a passing feeling: it is love expressed as steadfast commitment.
ALSO GROWS
chasid: A faithful or devoted person.
חָסִיד
The related word describes someone marked by the quality named in חֶסֶד.
chasadim: Acts of faithful love.
חֲסָדִים
The plural shows that this love is made visible in deeds, giving substance to the name’s nature.
אֲמִתֶּךָ
amitekha
GROWS FROM
אמן
ʾ-m-n
To be firm, steady, or reliable.
Truth here belongs to the language of what holds firm. Paired with faithful love, it shows a nature that is both committed and dependable.
ALSO GROWS
amen: Firmly, truly; so be it.
אָמֵן
The word affirms that what is spoken is reliable and can be trusted.
ne'eman: Trustworthy, steady.
נֶאֱמָן
This branch describes the dependable character that the verse associates with the LORD’s truth.
THE PATTERN
The name’s weight is shown through faithful love and truth, shifting honor away from human credit and toward the LORD’s nature.
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.THE THREAD
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,Psalm 115 names faithful love (חֶסֶד, chesed) and truth (אֱמֶת, emet) as the reason glory is given to the LORD’s name. Exodus 34:6 proclaims that same nature through goodness and truth, showing what gives the name its weight.
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