What Does Psalm 89:41 Mean in the King James?
All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.
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 verse’s sharpest wound is proximity: the “neighbours” are the dwellers around him, and he is a reproach to them.
THE MEANING
You can be exposed on two fronts at once: those passing along the road take from you, while those living nearest regard you with reproach. The verse holds material loss and public shame in the same scene.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Being surrounded does not guarantee protection or honor; here, the people nearest see the exposed one as a reproach.
THE ROOT
שְׁכֵנָיו
shekhenav
GROWS FROM
שכן
sh-k-n
Dwell, settle.
The Hebrew word for “neighbours” comes from the root for dwelling: they are the people living around him. The same root forms the word for a dwelling place, so the verse locates his disgrace among those nearest to him.
ALSO GROWS
shakhan: Dwell, settle.
שָׁכַן
This is the root verb behind “neighbours”: their identity is tied to dwelling nearby.
mishkan: Dwelling place, tabernacle.
מִשְׁכָּן
It carries the same seed of dwelling, revealing the closeness embedded in the word for “neighbours.”
עֹבְרֵי
ʿovrei
GROWS FROM
עבר
ʿ-b-r
Cross over, pass through.
“pass by” in this verse is ʿovrei. The word pictures people moving along a route, not a fixed crowd. Here their passage becomes the setting for plunder: those crossing by him take from him.
ALSO GROWS
ʿāvar: Cross over, pass through.
עָבַר
This is the verb at the root of the passersby’s movement along the road.
maʿavār: Crossing, passage, or ford.
מַעֲבָר
It names a place of crossing, keeping the idea of movement through a route visible in the verse.
THE PATTERN
Public vulnerability can draw both material harm from passersby and contempt from those who see it.
They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,THE THREAD
Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.The Hebrew word for “they which go by” comes from the same root, עבר (ʿavar, “to cross or pass through”), as “pass by” here. Psalm 89’s passersby plunder; Psalm 129’s passersby do not speak a blessing, making the response of those on the road part of both scenes.
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