What Does Psalm 61:8 Mean in the King James?
So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.
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
Praise is voiced toward God’s shem (שֵׁם, name as nature), while the root that completes the vows also gives shalom, wholeness: praise and daily life meet in what is made whole.
THE MEANING
Your praise is directed toward God’s nature and continues beyond a single day. Each day, what you have pledged comes to completion; the verse holds your voice and your lived commitment together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It dissolves the idea that praise can remain only words: here, the singer’s daily life completes what the mouth has pledged.
THE ROOT
לְשַׁלְּמִי
leshalemi
GROWS FROM
שלם
Be whole, make complete, or repay.
“perform” in this verse is leshalemi. The verb for fulfilling a vow shares its root with shalom, wholeness, and shalem, complete. The verse joins praise to the daily completion of what has been pledged.
ALSO GROWS
shalom: Wholeness, well-being
שָׁלוֹם
The vow’s completion belongs to the same root that names wholeness.
shalem: Whole, complete
שָׁלֵם
This branch makes the sense of bringing a pledged word to completion visible.
shillem: Repaid, made good
שִׁלֵּם
This verb form shows how the root can describe fulfilling an obligation.
אֲזַמְּרָה
azammerah
GROWS FROM
זמר
Sing or make music.
“sing praise” in this verse is azammerah. Praise here has a musical shape, carried in song through time. Beside the daily completion of vows, the verse holds voiced praise and lived commitment together.
ALSO GROWS
mizmor: Psalm, song
מִזְמוֹר
A psalm is praise given a form that can be sung and carried forward.
zemirah: Song, melody
זְמִרָה
This branch keeps the musical quality of the praise in view.
THE PATTERN
Praise becomes whole as pledged words take shape in daily acts.
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.THE THREAD
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:The Hebrew verb translated “pay” is שִׁלֵּם (shillem), meaning repay or make complete, from the root שלם. That same root carries the sense of wholeness in Psalm 61:8, joining thanksgiving with the completion of a vow.
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