What Does Psalm 122:9 Mean in the King James?

Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.

Psalm 122:9 · 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.

THE KEY

The house of God is not the endpoint of devotion; it is the reason the city’s good is actively pursued.

THE MEANING

The house of the LORD is the reason for seeking Jerusalem’s good, not a retreat from it. Reverence for God takes visible shape in active concern for the city’s wellbeing.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It dissolves the idea that closeness to God can remain enclosed within sacred space: here, devotion moves outward into seeking the city’s good.

THE ROOT

אֲבַקְשָׁה

avaqshah

GROWS FROM

בקש

Seek out, search for, or request.

English “seek” can sound like an inward wish, but ⁨בָּקַשׁ⁩ also gives words for a seeker and a request. The good here is something actively pursued; the house of the LORD gives that pursuit its reason.

ALSO GROWS

mevaqqesh: One who seeks; a seeker.

מְבַקֵּשׁ

The shared root makes the speaker a seeker of Jerusalem’s good, not merely someone who approves of it.

baqqashah: A request or petition.

בַּקָּשָׁה

This branch carries seeking into an expressed request, showing the active force of pursuing another’s good.

טוֹב

tov

GROWS FROM

טוב

Good, beneficial, or pleasing.

⁨טוֹב⁩ here is Jerusalem’s concrete welfare, not only an abstract moral quality. The same root gives ⁨טוּב⁩, goodness or abundance, and ⁨מֵיטָב⁩, the best or choicest; seeking her good means seeking what benefits her.

ALSO GROWS

tuv: Goodness, benefit, or abundance.

טוּב

It opens “good” toward the wellbeing and abundance sought for Jerusalem.

meitav: The best or choicest.

מֵיטָב

This branch shows the root extending to what is best, sharpening the sense of seeking Jerusalem’s full good.

THE PATTERN

Reverence for God’s dwelling becomes active pursuit of the surrounding community’s welfare.

And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

Jeremiah 29:7 · KJVThe city’s wholeness becomes something actively sought, and its peace is bound to the seekers’ own wellbeing.

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Psalm 34:14 · KJVGood and peace appear as realities to do and pursue, not merely admire.

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Galatians 6:10 · KJVThe pursuit of good reaches outward to people beyond the sacred gathering.

THE THREAD

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Psalm 34:14 · KJV

Both verses use the Hebrew root ⁨טוב⁩ (tov) for good and ⁨בקש⁩ (baqash) for seeking. Psalm 34:14 places doing good beside seeking peace, revealing the active pursuit inside “I will seek thy good.”

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