What Does Psalm 36:10 Mean in the King James?
O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
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 word rendered “continue” means “draw out,” so the prayer pictures faithful love actively stretching toward those who know God.
THE MEANING
God’s faithful love reaches toward those who know him, and his alignment extends toward the upright in heart. “Continue” carries the sense of drawing or stretching out, so this is love moving toward someone, not only remaining in place.
THE ROOT
מְשֹׁךְ
mĕšōḵ
GROWS FROM
משך
m-sh-kh
To draw, pull, extend, or prolong.
The English “continue” can sound static, as if asking only for something to remain in place. This Hebrew verb pictures God drawing or extending faithful love toward a person, making continuance a movement of nearness.
ALSO GROWS
wayyimšĕḵû: In Genesis 37:28, traders draw Joseph up from the pit.
וַיִּמְשְׁכוּ
The verb describes someone being pulled outward; here, “continue” carries that same directional movement.
māšĕḵēnî: Song of Solomon 1:4 uses the same root in a direct plea to be drawn.
מָשְׁכֵנִי
The root can express relational attraction as well as physical pulling, illuminating the intimacy of the prayer.
חֶסֶד
ḥesed
GROWS FROM
חסד
ḥ-s-d
Faithful love: loyal, committed care.
“lovingkindness” in this verse is ḥesed. The word names more than a kind feeling; it carries the texture of love that remains loyal in relationship. Its word family can describe both this faithful love and a person marked by devotion.
ALSO GROWS
ḥesed: Loyal love expressed through committed care.
חֶסֶד
This is the love the verse asks God to draw out toward those who know him.
ḥāsîd: A person characterized by devotion or loyalty.
חָסִיד
The related word for a faithful person gives the love in this verse a relational texture: it belongs to the life of knowing and loyalty.
צִדְקָתְךָ
ṣidqāteḵā
GROWS FROM
צדק
ṣ-d-q
To be right, just, or aligned.
The verse places God’s righteousness beside people described as upright in heart, presenting alignment as a relationship between God’s way and the heart’s orientation. The word carries more than a verdict; it also evokes right order.
ALSO GROWS
ṣedeq: Rightness or justice expressed as what is properly aligned.
צֶדֶק
It brings the verse’s “righteousness” into view as an ordering quality that extends from God.
ṣaddîq: A person described as just or aligned.
צַדִּיק
This related form echoes the verse’s pairing of God’s alignment with the uprightness of the heart.
THE PATTERN
God’s faithful love reaches those who know him, while his alignment meets the heart turned straight toward him.
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.THE THREAD
The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.Psalm 36:10’s “continue” and Jeremiah’s “drawn” translate the same Hebrew root, משך (māšakh). Jeremiah places that drawing directly beside חֶסֶד (ḥesed), faithful love, revealing the prayer as a plea for love to keep reaching toward the one who knows God.
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