What Does Psalm 116:17 Mean in the King James?
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
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
Thanksgiving is the offering, and the name called upon is the LORD’s nature, joining gratitude and invocation in one act.
THE MEANING
Your gratitude is itself the offering to the LORD; the verse does not separate thanks from approach. Calling upon the LORD’s name means calling upon the nature that name carries, so thanksgiving and invocation meet in one spoken act.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that gratitude is only a polite preface to a request: here thanksgiving itself is the sacrifice, and calling upon the LORD’s nature follows as part of the same act.
THE ROOT
תּוֹדָה
todah
GROWS FROM
ידה
y-d-h
to acknowledge, give thanks, or praise
“thanksgiving” in this verse is todah. This word belongs to a family of praise and acknowledgment; Genesis 29:35 ties Judah’s name to this same praise-language. Here gratitude is something uttered and offered, not only a feeling.
ALSO GROWS
yadah: to give thanks, praise, or acknowledge
יָדָה
The root shows thanksgiving as an act of acknowledgment, not merely a private emotion.
Yehudah: Judah, a name linked to praise
יְהוּדָה
Genesis 29:35 connects the name with the words “I will praise the LORD,” linking Judah and thanksgiving through the root.
זֶבַח
zevach
GROWS FROM
זבח
z-b-ḥ
to slaughter or make a sacrifice
The Hebrew says, in effect, “I will sacrifice a sacrifice,” using a verb and noun from the same root where English separates them as “offer” and “sacrifice.” That repetition makes thanksgiving a concrete offering in the verse, not a passing sentiment.
ALSO GROWS
zavach: to slaughter or offer in sacrifice
זָבַח
This is the verb behind “I will offer,” tying the speaker’s action directly to the sacrifice named next.
mizbeach: altar
מִזְבֵּחַ
The altar is the place associated with sacrifice, extending the same root from the act to its place.
אֶקְרָא
eqra
GROWS FROM
קרא
q-r-ʾ
to call out, proclaim, or summon
Qara can mean to call out, proclaim, or read aloud, so “call upon” carries a spoken act, not only a private petition. Because the object is the LORD’s name, that spoken call addresses the nature carried by the name.
ALSO GROWS
qara: to call, proclaim, or read aloud
קָרָא
This root makes the speaker’s call an utterance directed toward the LORD’s name.
miqra: a reading, proclamation, or convocation
מִקְרָא
This related word shows how calling can extend into a voiced proclamation or a gathering called together.
THE PATTERN
Thanksgiving becomes an offering when gratitude is voiced toward God.
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.THE THREAD
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:Psalm 50:14 pairs זֶבַח (zevach, sacrifice) with תּוֹדָה (todah, thanksgiving), sharing the sacrificial and thanksgiving roots found here. The KJV renders the sacrificial noun as “Offer,” so beside Psalm 116:17 the connection reveals that thanksgiving itself is the thing offered.
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