What Does Psalm 148:14 Mean in the King James?

He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 148:14 · 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

God lifts his people’s horn as he names them a people near to him, so their exaltation and closeness belong together.

The LORD raises the strength of his people, a people near to him. The verse speaks of your dignity as something held within belonging to God: strength and nearness stand together.

קְרֹבוֹ

qerovo

GROWS FROM

קרב

q-r-b

to approach, draw near

The word translated “near” belongs to a root that also describes approaching or being brought close. Nearness here carries movement and relationship within it: the people belong close to God.

ALSO GROWS

qarav: To approach or come near

קָרַב

It makes clear that nearness is a movement into closeness, not merely a label for the people.

qorban: Drawing near

קָרְבָּן

This branch carries the same approach toward closeness, illuminating the verse’s picture of a people near to God.

חֲסִידָיו

chasidav

GROWS FROM

חסד

ḥ-s-d

faithful love, loyal devotion

The word rendered “saints” belongs to the family of ⁨חֶסֶד⁩ (chesed, “faithful love”). That root lets the verse’s faithful ones be heard through the nature of faithful love, while the people are also named as near to God.

ALSO GROWS

chesed: Faithful love

חֶסֶד

This is the root-family idea carried into the description of God’s faithful ones.

chasid: A person marked by faithful devotion

חָסִיד

This singular form shows how the root’s faithful-love quality describes the people called “saints.”

וַיָּרֶם

vayyārem

GROWS FROM

רום

r-w-m

to be high, rise, or lift up

“exalteth” in this verse is vayyārem. The verb keeps the image of upward movement: God raises the horn, the people’s strength. The same root family names what is high and the height itself, so the verse’s exaltation remains a concrete lifting.

ALSO GROWS

ram: High, elevated

רָם

It shows the upward sense held inside the verb translated “exalteth.”

marom: Height, high place

מָרוֹם

This noun preserves the same vertical image of being lifted up.

God raises the strength of a people whose identity is nearness to him.

All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
Psalm 75:10 · KJVThe horn again pictures strength that God raises.
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
Psalm 65:4 · KJVThose brought near to God are given a place in his courts, echoing the nearness that marks his people.
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:13 · KJVPeople who were far off are made near, expressing the same movement into closeness with God.
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
Psalm 65:4 · KJV

The word translated “near” is ⁨קְרֹבוֹ⁩ (qerovo, “near to him”), from the same ⁨קרב⁩ (q-r-b, “approach, draw near”) root as “causest to approach” in Psalm 65:4. Together the verses reveal nearness as both the people’s belonging and the movement by which they come close.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us

Psalm 148:14 KJV Meaning