What Does Psalm 147:1 Mean in the King James?
Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
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
Praise, music, and beauty move together here: what is good becomes audible and fitting.
THE MEANING
Praise is good now because it gives the voice a fitting expression toward God. Singing praise is pleasant, and praise itself is beautiful in its place with God.
THE ROOT
הַלְלוּ
halelu
GROWS FROM
ה־ל־ל
H-L-L
Praise, commend, celebrate.
“Praise ye” in this verse is halelu. Halelu comes from halal, the same root that gives תְּהִלָּה (tehillah, praise or a praise-song). The verse opens and closes with this family of words, presenting praise as both an utterance and a formed expression.
ALSO GROWS
tehillah: Praise or a song of praise.
תְּהִלָּה
This is the same root family as the opening command, linking the act of praising to the praise that takes shape.
hallelu-yah: A call to praise Yah.
הַלְלוּיָהּ
It carries the same praise-root into a familiar call, showing how halal becomes a voiced expression.
זַמְּרוּ
zammeru
GROWS FROM
ז־מ־ר
Z-M-R
Make music; sing or play with musical sound.
“Sing praises” in this verse is zammeru. The Hebrew word for singing praises already carries the making of music. Beside halal, it shows praise becoming audible through song rather than remaining an inward idea.
ALSO GROWS
mizmor: A song or psalm, often intended for musical performance.
מִזְמוֹר
A mizmor gives musical form to praise, echoing the singing named in this verse.
zimrah: Song or music.
זִמְרָה
This branch makes the musical dimension of zamar explicit: praise here is voiced in song.
THE PATTERN
Across Scripture, praise takes voiced form as a fitting response to God, through song, psalm, and the fruit of the lips.
Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.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
But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.The word translated “praises” is תְּהִלּוֹת (tehillot, praises), from halal, the same root as “Praise ye” here. Psalm 147 calls praise good and fitting; Psalm 22 pictures those praises as a place God inhabits.
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