What Does Psalm 23:2 Mean in the King James?

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Psalm 23:2 · 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

“Still waters” are literally waters of rest: the shepherd leads you not only to water, but to a place where you can settle.

THE MEANING

You are placed where nourishment is growing and guided beside waters whose wording carries rest. The shepherd’s care brings both provision and a place to settle; your being made to lie down is part of that care.

THE ROOT

מְנֻחוֹת

menuchot

GROWS FROM

נוח

n-w-ḥ

To settle, come to rest.

English “still” can make the water sound merely motionless, but menuchot names rest. The verse leads you to water that carries the quality of a resting place, joining nourishment with repose.

ALSO GROWS

menuchah: Rest; a resting place.

מְנוּחָה

This noun from the same root makes the link between water and a place of rest explicit.

manoach: A resting place; repose.

מָנוֹחַ

The shared root presents rest as somewhere one can arrive, not only as the absence of movement.

יַרְבִּיצֵנִי

yarbitzeni

GROWS FROM

רבץ

r-b-ṣ

To lie down or crouch.

The verb describes a concrete posture of reclining or crouching. Here the shepherd causes you to lie down, so rest is part of the care being given, not simply a pause you create for yourself.

ALSO GROWS

rovetz: Crouching; lying down.

רֹבֵץ

The same root gives a physical picture of settling into a posture, making the verse’s rest more concrete than a general sense of calm.

mirbats: A lair or place where an animal lies down.

מִרְבָּץ

This related noun names a place for lying down, echoing the pasture as a setting where you can settle.

THE PATTERN

The one who guides also brings the living being to nourishment and water that sustain and settle it.

They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.

Psalm 36:8 · KJVProvision arrives as food and drink that satisfy, joining abundance with nourishment.

They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

Isaiah 49:10 · KJVThe one who leads also guides you beside springs, where thirst and exposure give way to care.

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Revelation 7:17 · KJVFeeding and guidance bring the living to water, while their distress is also met.

THE THREAD

This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

Psalm 132:14 · KJV

“Rest” here comes from the same root as the “still” waters in Psalm 23:2. The waters are more than quiet: they lead you toward a place of rest, where dwelling becomes possible.

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