What Does Psalm 68:22 Mean in the King James?
The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea:
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 doubled promise reaches from Bashan to the sea’s depths, declaring that distance and burial cannot have the final word.
THE MEANING
The repeated promise spans Bashan and the sea’s deepest place, declaring that distance and depth do not put the matter beyond the Lord’s reach. The KJV names the second object as “my people,” while the Hebrew leaves it unstated. The neighboring lines name wounded enemies, blood, and dogs, keeping the promise inside a violent victory scene.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that something sunk beyond sight is beyond retrieval.
THE ROOT
אֲשִׁיב אֲשִׁיב
ashiv ashiv
GROWS FROM
שׁוּב
To turn or return; in this form, to cause to return, bring back.
English says “bring again” twice, while Hebrew repeats the same causative form, making return itself the insistence. This root also gives the verb “restore,” so return here carries the possibility of restoration without erasing the battle scene around it.
ALSO GROWS
shuv: Turn, return.
שׁוּב
This basic form reveals the motion beneath “bring again”: something turns back toward where it came from.
yeshovev: He restores, brings back.
יְשׁוֹבֵב
In Psalm 23:3 this same root describes restoration of the living soul, linking return with restoration.
THE PATTERN
The Lord’s reach crosses the furthest distance and deepest place, where what seems beyond reach remains within his grasp.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.THE THREAD
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.The verb rendered “restoreth” comes from the same Hebrew root for “bring back” in this verse. The shepherd’s restoration of the living soul and the Lord’s retrieval from the depths share one motion: return that restores.
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