What Does Psalm 115:18 Mean?
But we bless the LORD from now and into the ages. Praise the LORD!
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
But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.THE KEY
The living bend toward the LORD in blessing, beginning now and reaching through the ages.
THE MEANING
You are among the living who can bless the LORD from this moment. The Hebrew word for “bless” carries the image of the knee bending, while “for evermore” reaches across the ages; this praise begins now and continues beyond one moment.
THE ROOT
נְבָרֵךְ
nevarekh
GROWS FROM
ברך
To kneel or bend the knee; to bless.
The word for blessing shares its root with the word for knee, carrying bodily posture within the act of blessing. The verse’s “we will bless” holds both speech and a bending toward the LORD.
ALSO GROWS
berekh: knee
בֶּרֶךְ
Its shared root lets the verse’s blessing carry the image of a bent knee.
berakhah: blessing
בְּרָכָה
This noun from the same root names the blessing the speakers offer to the LORD.
הַלְלוּ־יָהּ
hallelu-yah
GROWS FROM
הלל
To praise or celebrate.
“Praise the LORD!” in this verse is hallelu-yah. The closing words literally call, “Praise Yah.” The plural command turns the speakers’ blessing into voiced praise that others can join.
ALSO GROWS
tehillah: praise; a song of praise
תְּהִלָּה
This noun from the same root shows praise as something voiced and sung.
hallel: praise or celebrate
הַלֵּל
This related verb keeps the call to praise joined to an ongoing act.
THE PATTERN
The living answer the LORD with praise that begins in the present and continues through every season.
A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed. I bless the LORD at all times, and his praise is continually in my mouth.While I live, I will praise the LORD, and I will make music for my God while I am still.Through him, then, let us always carry up a sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name.THE THREAD
Let the name of the LORD be blessed, from now and into the ages.Psalm 113:2 repeats the same phrase, “from this time forth and for evermore,” and uses the same Hebrew root ברך (bārakh) for blessing. The echo makes the present blessing part of an unbroken reach through the ages.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us