What Does Psalm 107:15 Mean?
Let them extend their hands in thanks to the LORD for his faithful love, and for his wonders to the children of humankind.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!THE KEY
What English calls “goodness” is chesed, faithful love, and praise answers that love made visible in wonders.
THE MEANING
Your praise rises from recognizing the LORD’s faithful love and the wondrous acts through which it becomes visible. The verse places the children of Adam, the human family, among those who encounter these wonders.
THE ROOT
חַסְדּוֹ
chasdo
GROWS FROM
ח־ס־ד
ḥ-s-d
Faithful, loyal love expressed through steadfast care.
The word carries more than a general quality of goodness: it names love that stays true and acts. Here that faithful love is a reason for praise, alongside the wonders themselves.
ALSO GROWS
chasid: A faithful or devoted person.
חָסִיד
The same root describes someone characterized by the steadfastness named in chesed.
chasadim: Acts of faithful love.
חֲסָדִים
The plural form shows this love taking shape in deeds, echoing the wonders named in the verse.
נִפְלְאוֹתָיו
nifla’otav
GROWS FROM
פ־ל־א
p-l-ʾ
To be extraordinary, wondrous, beyond the ordinary.
The Hebrew calls these deeds wonders: acts that exceed the ordinary. Beside chesed, wonder is not detached spectacle; it is faithful love made visible.
ALSO GROWS
pele: A wonder or marvel.
פֶּלֶא
This noun shares the root and gives the deeds their quality of wonder.
nifla’ot: Wonders, extraordinary deeds.
נִפְלָאוֹת
This is the plural form at the heart of the verse’s phrase, naming the acts as wonders.
THE PATTERN
People answer God’s wondrous acts and faithful love with praise.
You are the God who makes wonders; you make known your strength among the peoples.O extend your hands in thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his faithful love reaches to the ages.For the Mighty One has done great things for me, and set apart is his name.THE THREAD
O extend your hands in thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his faithful love reaches to the ages.The Hebrew word behind “mercy” here is chesed, the same root rendered “goodness” in Psalm 107:15. The connection opens both verses around one idea: faithful love endures and becomes a reason for thanks.
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