What Does Psalm 34:16 Mean in the King James?
The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
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’s opposition reaches into memory itself: those who do evil are cut off from the earth’s remembrance.
THE MEANING
The LORD’s face stands against those who do evil, and the verse names the consequence as their remembrance being cut off from the earth. The image reaches beyond punishment to the loss of their place in the human story.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that the LORD is indifferent to active evil: the same divine presence that watches over the righteous is set against those who do it.
THE ROOT
לְהַכְרִית
lehakhrît
GROWS FROM
כרת
To cut or sever.
“cut off” in this verse is lehakhrît. The verse pictures remembrance as something severed, not merely forgotten. The same root is used for cutting a covenant, giving this image the force of a decisive separation.
ALSO GROWS
karat: To cut or sever; used in the phrase כָּרַת בְּרִית (karat berit), to cut a covenant.
כָּרַת
The covenant phrase shows how this root can describe a binding act of separation or commitment; here it describes remembrance being severed from the earth.
keritut: Severance; a certificate of divorce.
כְּרִיתוּת
This branch carries the sense of a bond being cut, illuminating the finality in the verse’s image of remembrance cut off.
זִכְרָם
zikhrām
GROWS FROM
זכר
To remember or call to mind.
What is threatened is not only life but a place in memory. Hebrew ties remembrance to the act of keeping someone in mind, so the verse pictures the end of their continuing presence in the human story.
ALSO GROWS
zākhar: To remember or call to mind.
זָכַר
The verb makes remembrance an active keeping in mind, the very thing the verse says will be cut off.
zikkārôn: A memorial or remembrance.
זִכָּרוֹן
A memorial preserves someone’s place in memory; this verse describes that preservation ending.
פְּנֵי
penei
GROWS FROM
פנה
To turn or direct toward.
The Hebrew face-word can also carry the sense of presence, so the opposition here is not an abstract verdict: the LORD’s presence is set against those doing evil. The preceding verse turns the eyes and ears toward the righteous, making divine attention directional.
ALSO GROWS
pānāh: To turn or face toward.
פָּנָה
The verb adds direction to the image of the LORD’s face, which the verse presents as turned against evildoers.
lifnê: Before; in the presence of.
לִפְנֵי
This form shows how the face-word also carries the sense of presence, sharpening the relational force of the verse.
THE PATTERN
Scripture pairs the LORD’s attention to the righteous with the loss or severing of evil’s legacy.
The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.THE THREAD
For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.Both verses use כרת (karat, to cut or sever): here the remembrance of evildoers is cut off, while there the seed of the wicked is cut off. Together they extend the image from memory to continuity across generations.
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