What Does Psalm 16:5 Mean in the King James?
The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
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 LORD is not merely the giver of your inheritance; the LORD is the share itself, holding your allotted life steady.
THE MEANING
Your inheritance is not only something you receive: the LORD is your portion, and the cup is the life held within that share. Your lot does not hang loose in chance; God is sustaining it now. The verse places what you receive and what holds you within the same relationship.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
You are secure only if you can control what you receive and what happens next. This verse locates security in the One who is both your portion and the one holding your lot.
THE ROOT
חֵלֶק
ḥēleq
GROWS FROM
חלק
To divide, apportion, or share out.
English “portion” can sound like a quantity handed over, but חֵלֶק (ḥēleq) is a share allotted from a whole. The verse says the LORD is not only the giver of an inheritance: the share itself is the LORD, made tangible through the images of cup and lot.
ALSO GROWS
ḥālaq: To divide or apportion.
חָלַק
This verb reveals the allotment inside “portion”: what is yours is a share set out for you.
ḥelqāh: A parcel or plot of land.
חֶלְקָה
A parcel is a portion made concrete; here the speaker’s share is not land but the LORD.
תּוֹמִיךְ
tômîḵ
GROWS FROM
תמך
To grasp, hold, or support.
“Maintainest” carries the image of active support: the lot is held, not left to drift. The root also describes laying hold of wisdom, so the verse turns the image around, the speaker’s lot is secure because God holds it.
ALSO GROWS
tāmaḵ: To grasp, hold, or support.
תָּמַךְ
This is the verb behind “maintainest”: God supports the speaker’s allotted share.
tōmĕḵeha: Those who hold her, speaking of wisdom (Proverbs 3:18).
תֹּמְכֶיהָ
The same root describes people laying hold of wisdom; here the holding runs the other way, with God holding the speaker’s lot.
THE PATTERN
A life is made secure when God is its portion and the one who holds its share.
My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.THE THREAD
My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.Psalm 73:26 uses the same Hebrew word, חֵלֶק (ḥēleq), for “portion.” Here the LORD is the speaker’s share within the inheritance; there, God remains the portion even when flesh and heart fail.
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