What Does Psalm 48:11 Mean in the King James?

Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.

Psalm 48:11 · 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

Here, God’s judgments do not interrupt joy; they give Zion and Judah reason to rejoice.

THE MEANING

God’s judgments are present as acts of decision and order, and Zion and Judah rejoice because of them. The city and its daughters share that response: judgment and gladness stand together.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

God’s judgment can only mean threat, so joy has no place beside it. This verse names those judgments as the reason for rejoicing.

THE ROOT

מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ

mishpateikha

GROWS FROM

שפט

To judge, decide a case, or govern.

The phrase “because of thy judgments” makes God’s judging the ground of Zion’s joy. The noun for “judgments” and the verb “to judge” grow from the same root, joining the decision to the act of deciding.

ALSO GROWS

shaphat: To judge or decide.

שָׁפַט

This verb shares the root of the judgments named as the cause of joy.

shofet: A judge.

שֹׁפֵט

The judge is the one who carries out the judging expressed in the verse’s noun.

mishpat: Judgment or a ruling.

מִשְׁפָּט

This singular form shares the root of the plural word translated “judgments.”

THE PATTERN

When God judges, the rightness of that judgment becomes a cause for joy.

Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD.

Psalm 97:8 · KJVZion and Judah again rejoice because of God’s judgments, making the connection explicit.

Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

Psalm 96:13 · KJVThe surrounding song calls creation to rejoice as the LORD comes to judge the earth.

For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

Revelation 19:2 · KJVHeaven names God’s judgments as true and righteous, and celebrates that corruption and violence are answered.

THE THREAD

Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD.

Psalm 97:8 · KJV

The Hebrew word for “judgments,” ⁨מִשְׁפָּט⁩ (mishpat), comes from ⁨שפט⁩ (shaphat), “to judge,” in both verses. Psalm 97:8 repeats the same Zion-and-daughters response, showing that their gladness is directly tied to God’s judging.

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