What Does Psalm 140:13 Mean in the King James?

Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.
Psalm 140:13 · 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.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

The “presence” here is literally God’s face: the upright remain before its gaze, and gratitude answers the nature carried in God’s name.

The aligned give thanks to God’s name, the nature carried in the name. The upright dwell before God’s face, an image of direct, lasting nearness that speaks to the reader now.

צַדִּיקִים

tsaddiqim

GROWS FROM

צדק

ts-d-q

to be right or just; alignment

“righteous” in this verse is tsaddiqim. The word carries the sense of being aligned, not merely meeting a moral score. Here, that alignment opens into thanksgiving and dwelling before God’s face.

ALSO GROWS

tsedeq: rightness, justice, alignment

צֶדֶק

It names the right order the righteous embody.

tsedaqah: righteousness, justice, right action

צְדָקָה

It shows alignment extending into actions and relationships.

יֵשְׁבוּ

yeshvu

GROWS FROM

ישב

y-sh-b

to sit, settle, or dwell

“dwell” in this verse is yeshvu. The verb can mean sitting as well as dwelling, giving the image a settled, enduring quality. The upright are pictured taking their place before God’s face.

ALSO GROWS

yashav: sit, settle, dwell

יָשַׁב

It holds together the act of sitting and the state of dwelling.

moshav: dwelling, settlement, seat

מוֹשָׁב

It extends the root’s image of a settled place to remain.

יְשָׁרִים

yesharim

GROWS FROM

ישר

y-sh-r

to be straight, level, or direct

This root gives “upright” the image of straightness and integrity. Beside the root of “righteous,” it adds a second picture of a life aligned and held straight before God.

ALSO GROWS

yashar: straight, upright

יָשָׁר

It is the same root-image expressed in the verse’s description of the upright.

yosher: straightness, integrity

יֹשֶׁר

It shows how the root can describe integrity as a quality of what is straight.

Alignment expresses itself in thanksgiving and a life that remains before God’s face.

He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
Psalm 15:2 · KJVUpright walking and righteous action express the alignment that Psalm 140 pictures as dwelling before God’s face.
Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
Psalm 97:12 · KJVHere, as in Psalm 140, the righteous answer their relation to God with thanksgiving.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8 · KJVThe promise of seeing God echoes the face-to-face nearness pictured as dwelling in God’s presence.
For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.
Psalm 11:7 · KJV

Psalm 11:7 joins the righteous and the upright to the LORD’s countenance, the same face-image held inside “presence” here. Together, the verses show the upright before God’s face and God’s face beholding the upright.

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Psalm 140:13 KJV Meaning