What Does Psalm 34:2 Mean in the King James?
My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
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 soul’s boast and praise share the Hebrew root הלל (halal), and that praise becomes gladness for the lowly who hear it.
THE MEANING
Your living soul finds its boast in the LORD; the lowly hear it and are glad. Praise reaches beyond the one who voices it: another person hears and shares in its gladness.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a boast only elevates the speaker: here the lowly hear it and become glad.
THE ROOT
תִּתְהַלֵּל
tithalel
GROWS FROM
הלל
halal
to praise, acclaim, or boast
תִּתְהַלֵּל (tithalel, boast) grows from הלל (halal), the root of praise. Since the boast is in the LORD, it is acclaim directed toward the LORD; its sound reaches the lowly and opens into gladness.
ALSO GROWS
hillel: praised or celebrated
הִלֵּל
This form shares the root’s consonants and makes clear that the verse’s boast belongs to the same word-family as praise.
halelu: praise!
הַלְלוּ
The plural call to praise carries the same root, showing how a personal boast can become a sound shared with others.
יִשְׁמְעוּ
yishme'u
GROWS FROM
שמע
shamaʿ
to hear or listen
“hear” in this verse is yishme'u. The root שמע (shamaʿ) connects hearing with what is heard and passed along as a report. The lowly receive the soul’s praise as something audible, and their gladness shows that it has reached them.
ALSO GROWS
shamaʿ: heard or listened
שָׁמַע
This form shares the root and highlights the act of receiving what the soul voices.
shemuʿah: report or news
שְׁמוּעָה
This noun shares the root’s consonants and shows how hearing can become a message carried to others.
וְיִשְׂמָחוּ
veyismachu
GROWS FROM
שמח
śamaḥ
to rejoice or be glad
“be glad” in this verse is veyismachu. The lowly do not merely hear the boast; they rejoice. The root שמח (śamaḥ) names that gladness as a response shared by the hearers.
ALSO GROWS
simḥah: joy or gladness
שִׂמְחָה
This noun shares the root and names the gladness that arises among the hearers.
sameaḥ: glad or rejoicing
שָׂמֵחַ
This form shares the root and describes the state the verse attributes to those who hear.
THE PATTERN
Praise directed toward the LORD becomes shared gladness when its testimony reaches others.
The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.THE THREAD
I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.Psalm 34’s “boast” and Psalm 69’s “praise” both grow from הלל (halal), holding acclaim and boasting in one Hebrew word-family. The praise in both verses is directed toward God, giving the soul’s boast the shape of praise.
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