What Does Psalm 126:2 Mean?
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a ringing cry. Then they said among the nations, The LORD has grown great in doing with these.
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
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.THE KEY
Restoration fills the mouth with laughter, turns the tongue to song, and becomes so audible that even outsiders name what the LORD has done.
THE MEANING
Restoration reaches you as something your body can voice: laughter fills your mouth and a ringing cry fills your tongue. People beyond your circle hear the change and recognize the LORD’s great action for you.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Only people already inside your community can recognize what the LORD has done.
THE ROOT
שְׂחוֹק
seḥōq
GROWS FROM
שׂחק
To laugh, play, or make sport.
The Hebrew word for laughter comes from a root that also means to play or make sport, carrying a sense of unguarded liveliness. Here that joy fills the mouth, becoming audible rather than remaining a private feeling.
ALSO GROWS
śāḥaq: To laugh or play.
שָׂחַק
The verb shows that laughter belongs to an active, lively expression.
məśaḥēq: Playing or making sport.
מְשַׂחֵק
This branch brings the playful dimension of the root into view alongside laughter.
רִנָּה
rinnāh
GROWS FROM
רנן
To ring out, cry aloud, or sing aloud.
The word translated “singing” can also mean a ringing cry or shout of joy. The verse’s tongue is not merely carrying a tune; its joy breaks out as a voiced cry.
ALSO GROWS
rānan: To cry aloud or sing aloud.
רָנַן
The verb makes the song a vocal outpouring, not a silent state of mind.
renānāh: A joyful cry or exultation.
רְנָנָה
This branch shows how the root can hold both song and a cry of joy.
הִגְדִּיל
higdîl
GROWS FROM
גדל
To grow, become great, or make great; in this form, to act greatly.
“has grown great in doing” in this verse is higdîl. The phrase translated “hath done great things” uses a verb from the root for becoming or making great. The people are naming the magnitude of the LORD’s action, not just reporting that something happened.
ALSO GROWS
gādal: To grow or become great.
גָּדַל
The root’s basic movement is an increase in size or stature.
gādōl: Great or large.
גָּדוֹל
This related adjective shows the same root’s sense of magnitude.
THE PATTERN
Restoration overflows into audible joy that witnesses can recognize.
Shout to the LORD, all the earth. Burst open, ring out, and make music.And as he drew near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the learners began to rejoice and praise God with a great voice, for all the works of strength they had perceived.And all the people saw him walking and praising God.THE THREAD
Therefore the ransomed of the LORD will turn back, and come to Zion with ringing cries and joy of the ages upon their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and groaning will flee away.Isaiah uses the same root, רנן (r-n-n), for the singing that accompanies return to Zion. The shared root links the tongue’s song here with a return from sorrow, while Psalm 126 shows others hearing and naming that changed state.
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