What Does Psalm 35:28 Mean?
And my tongue murmurs your alignment, and your praise, all the day long.
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
And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.THE KEY
The Hebrew word for “speak” also means to murmur or meditate, making praise a thought voiced and sustained through the day.
THE MEANING
Your tongue keeps speaking of God’s alignment and praise throughout the day. The words are more than a passing declaration: they are a steady utterance that holds God’s character in view as you voice them.
THE ROOT
צִדְקָתֶךָ
tsidqatekha
GROWS FROM
צ־ד־ק
ts-d-q
The root means rightness or justice as alignment; צִדְקָתֶךָ (tsidqatekha) means “your righteousness,” your alignment.
The word carries alignment beneath the familiar idea of righteousness. The tongue voices not only praise, but the alignment it recognizes in God.
ALSO GROWS
tsedeq: rightness, justice
צֶדֶק
It shows righteousness as a quality of right alignment.
tsedaqah: righteousness, justice
צְדָקָה
It carries the same root into the lived expression of what is right.
תֶּהְגֶּה
tehegeh
GROWS FROM
ה־ג־ה
h-g-h
The root means to murmur, utter, or meditate; תֶּהְגֶּה (tehegeh) means “you speak” or “you meditate.”
“murmurs” in this verse is tehegeh. The Hebrew joins voiced speech with meditation: what is turned over inwardly can also be murmured aloud. With “all the day long,” the verse describes praise as a sustained utterance, not a momentary announcement.
ALSO GROWS
yehgeh: he meditates, murmurs, or utters
יֶהְגֶּה
The same verb in Psalm 1:2 links continual meditation with the speech of this verse.
hagah: to murmur or growl
הָגָה
The sound can describe a low, continuing vocalization, adding a sense of persistence to the tongue’s words.
תְּהִלָּתֶךָ
tehillatekha
GROWS FROM
ה־ל־ל
h-l-l
The root means praise or acclaim; תְּהִלָּתֶךָ (tehillatekha) means “your praise.”
Praise here is voiced acclaim, not a vague feeling. Joined to words of alignment and the repeated utterance of hagah, it becomes the tongue’s continuing expression through the day.
ALSO GROWS
halal: to praise or acclaim
הָלַל
This verb is the seed of the praise named in the verse.
hallelu-yah: praise Yah
הַלְלוּיָהּ
The familiar call to praise preserves the same root in a direct utterance of acclaim.
THE PATTERN
When praise becomes continual, the mouth gives voice to what is held in thought and recognition.
My tongue also murmurs your alignment all the day long, for they are left standing exposed and brought low, those who seek my harm.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
But his delight is in the instruction of the LORD; and over his instruction he murmurs day and night.The verb translated “speak” in Psalm 35:28 shares the root הגה (hagah) with “meditate” here. The same word joins inward turning-over with voiced utterance, and both verses give it the rhythm of day-long attention.
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