What Does Psalm 118:29 Mean in the King James?
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
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 verse turns thanksgiving from a response to good circumstances into recognition of goodness and faithful love that remain.
THE MEANING
The LORD’s goodness is true for you now, and his faithful love does not run out when your circumstances shift. Giving thanks names what remains steady underneath each changing moment.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that a hard season means the LORD’s faithful love has run out.
THE ROOT
חַסְדּוֹ
chasdo
GROWS FROM
חסד
Faithful love, steadfast kindness, and loyalty within a relationship.
“mercy” in this verse is chasdo. Chesed is relational, loyal love: it carries steadfast kindness, not only pardon. The verse says this faithful love endures; its constancy belongs to the relationship, not to any single season.
ALSO GROWS
chasid: A faithful or devout one
חָסִיד
This related form describes someone characterized by faithfulness, showing that chesed is more than a passing feeling.
chasidim: Faithful or devout ones
חֲסִידִים
The plural carries that same quality into a community of people marked by faithful love.
הוֹדוּ
hodu from yadah
GROWS FROM
ידה
Acknowledge, praise, or give thanks.
“give thanks” in this verse is hodu from yadah. Yadah makes thanks an act of recognition: the goodness is named, not earned or generated by the one giving thanks. The verse’s opening is an acknowledgment of what remains true.
ALSO GROWS
todah: Thanksgiving or praise
תּוֹדָה
This noun gives thanks a name, linking the verse’s call to a wider language of acknowledgment.
Yehudah: Judah; a name associated with praise
יְהוּדָה
The name comes from the same praise root, showing praise as both an act and a name that carries its nature.
THE PATTERN
The LORD’s goodness and faithful love remain steady across changing circumstances and generations.
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.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.THE THREAD
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.The word rendered “mercy” is chesed, the same faithful love named here as enduring. Psalm 23 makes that love personal and near: it follows you through every day.
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