What Does Psalm 66:1 Mean in the King James?
To the chief Musician, A Song or Psalm. Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
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 shout is not decoration around joy; it is joy rising audibly from every land toward God.
THE MEANING
Joy becomes audible here, as the call reaches every land and gathers its voices into one address to God. The reader is included in that wide chorus; no single place contains it.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A voice to God belongs only to one people or place. This call widens the praise to every land.
THE ROOT
הָרִיעוּ
hari'u
GROWS FROM
רוע
To shout aloud or raise a cry.
“Make a joyful noise” in this verse is hari'u. This root can describe a shout of alarm as well as a shout of exultation; the verse locates the cry in joy and directs it toward God. The English phrase can sound like making a pleasant noise, while the Hebrew carries the force of a shout rising from the whole earth.
ALSO GROWS
teru'ah: A shout, alarm, or trumpet blast.
תְּרוּעָה
The noun names the sound itself, showing that the root holds the cry and its force together.
hari'a: He shouted aloud or raised a cry.
הָרִיעַ
This verb form shares the root of the verse’s command, making the call an act of voicing rather than a description of quiet feeling.
THE PATTERN
The whole earth is called to answer God with an audible, shared voice.
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.THE THREAD
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.Both verses use the Hebrew root רוע (rua), the root of the shout called for in Psalm 66. Psalm 98 lets that same cry widen into rejoicing and song, revealing the earth’s shout as the beginning of a shared response.
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