What Does Psalm 118:3 Mean in the King James?
Let the house of Aaron now say, that 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 house of Aaron gives a shared voice to a faithful love that holds through the ages.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks now as a household’s declaration: God’s חֶסֶד (ḥesed, faithful love) holds through the ages. The repeated “say” makes this enduring bond a shared confession, not a passing mood.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that God’s love is only temporary or momentary; the verse names a faithful love that holds through the ages.
THE ROOT
חֶסֶד
ḥesed
GROWS FROM
חסד
To show loyal love or steadfast kindness.
“mercy” in this verse is ḥesed. The word carries the sense of faithful love within a bond, not only a moment of pity. The verse gives that bond a voice and says it holds through the ages.
ALSO GROWS
ḥāsîd: A faithful or devoted person.
חָסִיד
The same root names someone by their loyalty, showing that ḥesed is a bond expressed in relationship.
ḥāsad: To act with steadfast kindness.
חָסַד
The verb shows ḥesed as something enacted: faithful love takes form in what one does.
יֹאמַר
yōmar
GROWS FROM
אמר
To say or speak.
The same verb is repeated across the surrounding verses: Israel says it, Aaron’s house says it, and those who revere the LORD say it. What begins as one household’s speech becomes a shared witness.
ALSO GROWS
ʾimrāh: An utterance or saying.
אִמְרָה
This noun shows the spoken word as something that can be held and repeated, as this declaration is.
ʾōmer: Speech or utterance.
אֹמֶר
It keeps the focus on voiced speech: the verse’s claim about faithful love is meant to be heard.
עוֹלָם
ʿolam
GROWS FROM
עלם
Hide or conceal; the proposed connection with עוֹלָם (ʿolam, age or ages) is debated.
Though rendered “for ever” here, עוֹלָם (ʿolam) can mean an age or the ages, keeping the phrase concrete in time. Its traditional association with what is hidden suggests a far-off horizon beyond sight, though that etymology is uncertain.
ALSO GROWS
ʿālam: To hide or conceal.
עָלַם
This proposed root connection gives the distant horizon of an age the shade of what lies beyond view.
neʿlām: Hidden or concealed.
נֶעְלָם
It shares the consonants of the proposed root and evokes what remains out of sight.
THE PATTERN
God’s faithful love is voiced as a bond that outlasts each passing generation.
Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.THE THREAD
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.Psalm 136:1 repeats the same Hebrew phrase as this verse: כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ (ki leʿolam ḥasdo, for his faithful love is through the ages). Psalm 118 places the refrain in Aaron’s mouth; Psalm 136 opens a wider song with the same claim.
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