What Does Psalm 97:9 Mean in the King James?
For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.
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 words “high” and “exalted” echo the Hebrew root of ascent, placing the LORD above the entire field of earth and gods.
THE MEANING
The LORD stands above the whole earth and all gods; the verse repeats the language of ascent to express that supremacy. The reader’s whole field of powers sits beneath that height.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that any earthly force or god can stand as the LORD’s equal.
THE ROOT
נַעֲלֵיתָ
naʿalita
GROWS FROM
עלה
To go up or ascend.
The verb translated “exalted” comes from the same ascent root that underlies “Most High.” English gives us two ideas, while Hebrew lets height and exaltation resonate as one image of rising above.
ALSO GROWS
ʿelyon: Most High; uppermost.
עֶלְיוֹן
This related form appears in the verse as “high,” linking the LORD’s title to the ascent expressed by “exalted.”
maʿalah: An ascent or step upward.
מַעֲלָה
It gives the root a concrete image of rising to a higher place.
ʿolah: A burnt offering; literally, that which goes up.
עֹלָה
This branch carries the same root’s upward movement into the language of something rising.
THE PATTERN
The LORD’s supremacy is expressed as a height no earthly realm or rival power can reach.
Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:THE THREAD
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.Isaiah uses the root ע־ל־ה (ʿ-l-h; alah, “to go up or ascend”) in “I will ascend,” alongside עֶלְיוֹן (ʿelyon, “Most High”). The shared ascent language sets that first-person claim beside Psalm 97:9’s declaration that the LORD is exalted above all.
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