What Does Psalm 89:21 Mean in the King James?
With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.
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 same presence that stays with him both steadies him and makes him strong.
THE MEANING
The hand is established with him, and the arm strengthens him: nearness and strength arrive together. The one who is accompanied is not merely held up; he is made steady and strong.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that being supported means remaining weak: the presence that stays with him also strengthens him.
THE ROOT
תִּכּוֹן
tikon
GROWS FROM
כון
k-w-n
To be firm, set in place, or prepared.
The root behind “established” also carries the sense of being prepared or set in place. The hand is pictured as a firm presence with him, joining nearness to steadiness.
ALSO GROWS
hēkhīn: Prepare, make ready.
הֵכִין
The same root links being established with being made ready and set in place.
kōnēn: Establish, make firm.
כּוֹנֵן
This form makes the root’s sense of stable support explicit.
תְאַמְּצֶנּוּ
teammetzennu
GROWS FROM
אמץ
ʾ-m-ṣ
To be strong or to make strong; strength and courage.
The root behind “strengthen” also appears in words for being strong and courageous. The arm’s strength is not separate from the person’s growing steadiness; the verse holds support and strength together.
ALSO GROWS
imtsu: Be strong, be courageous.
אִמְצוּ
This related form joins the root’s strength to courage and steadfastness.
ōmets: Strength, courage.
אֹמֶץ
The noun shows that the same root names strength as a quality, not only an action done to someone.
THE PATTERN
Divine presence accompanies and sustains the person it strengthens.
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;THE THREAD
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.Isaiah’s אִמַּצְתִּיךָ (immatztiykha, “I strengthen you”) shares the root אמץ (ʾ-m-ṣ) with תְאַמְּצֶנּוּ (“he will strengthen him”) in this verse. Isaiah places that same strengthening beside God’s upholding hand, opening the hand-and-strength pairing further.
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