What Does Psalm 98:6 Mean?
With trumpets and the sound of the ram's horn, shout before the King, 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
With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.THE KEY
The trumpet and the shout together become the public sound of recognizing the LORD as King.
THE MEANING
Here, praise is more than an inward feeling: it takes audible form in trumpet blasts and a raised voice before the LORD, the King. The verse gathers crafted sound and human acclaim into a present recognition of the One who reigns.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the idea that praise is only private or inward: here, acclaim is voiced and heard.
THE ROOT
הָרִיעוּ
hāriʿû
GROWS FROM
רוע
rûaʿ
to shout, raise a cry, or acclaim
The verb can describe a shout of joy, an alarm, or a cry of triumph; the sound carries the force of public acclamation. Beside the trumpet and cornet, it makes praise an audible gathering of voices and instruments before the King.
ALSO GROWS
teruʿah: a shout, alarm, or trumpet blast
תְּרוּעָה
This noun from the same root gathers a voiced cry and a blast into one kind of acclaim.
hēriʿa: he shouted or acclaimed
הֵרִיעַ
This verb form shows that the verse’s “noise” is an act of raising a cry, not mere background sound.
מֶלֶךְ
melekh
GROWS FROM
מלך
m-l-k
to reign or exercise kingship
“before the King, the LORD” in this verse is melekh. The verse directs its full sound before the LORD as King, naming active rule rather than a distant title. The shouting and instruments become acclaim for the One who reigns.
ALSO GROWS
mālak: to reign
מָלַךְ
The verb makes the king’s title an active reality: the LORD reigns.
malkût: kingship or realm
מַלְכוּת
This branch shows the wider rule signaled by the title before which the sound rises.
THE PATTERN
Praise becomes public acclaim as voices and instruments give audible form to God’s reign.
To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Clap your hands, all the peoples; shout to God with a ringing voice.Praise him with the thrust of the ram's horn; praise him with the harp and the lyre.Saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and weight, and blessing.THE THREAD
To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Clap your hands, all the peoples; shout to God with a ringing voice.Psalm 47 uses the same root רוע (rûaʿ), meaning to shout or acclaim, so the sound here is a cry of triumph rather than generic noise. The shared root joins the trumpet and shout before the LORD the King to a whole people’s acclaim to God.
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