The Meaning of Psalms 144:12 Explained

Psalms 144:12

KJV: That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:

YLT: Because our sons are as plants, Becoming great in their youth, Our daughters as hewn stones, Polished -- the likeness of a palace,

Darby: That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; our daughters as corner-columns, sculptured after the fashion of a palace:

ASV: When our sons shall be as plants grown up in their youth, And our daughters as corner-stones hewn after the fashion of a palace;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

That our sons  [may be] as plants  grown up  in their youth;  [that] our daughters  [may be] as corner stones,  polished  [after] the similitude  of a palace: 

What does Psalms 144:12 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 144:1-15 - God's People Are Happy
This psalm savors of the rocky caverns from which David and his men emerged to fight. Each day the chieftain asked God to teach him to fight, and realized that all his need would be met. The names he gives to God indicate that all-sidedness which becomes the complement of every conceivable necessity on our part.
What a striking conception opens in Psalms 144:4! Saul was but a "breath"! r.v., margin. The persecuting bands were as the shadows that pass across the hills! From them all he appealed to God to bow the heavens and come, to touch the mountains, and to rescue him from the rising waters. And when the storm has passed he sings his new glad song, Psalms 144:9. Psalms 144:12-15 were probably added at a later time, when David was established in his kingdom. They describe a summer afternoon of prosperity, when sons have grown from plants to trees, and daughters resemble the carved figures which support the beams of a palace. No breaking in of the foe, no need to go forth to fight, no outcry of oppression or want; but the halcyon sunset of a well-spent life. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 144

1  David blesses God for his mercy both to him and to man
5  He prays that God would powerfully deliver him from his enemies
9  He promises to praise God
11  He prays for the happy state of the kingdom

What do the individual words in Psalms 144:12 mean?

That our sons [may be] as plants grown up in their youth [That] our daughters [may be] as pillars Sculptured in style palace
אֲשֶׁ֤ר בָּנֵ֨ינוּ ׀ כִּנְטִעִים֮ מְגֻדָּלִ֪ים בִּֽנְעוּרֵ֫יהֶ֥ם בְּנוֹתֵ֥ינוּ כְזָוִיֹּ֑ת מְ֝חֻטָּב֗וֹת תַּבְנִ֥ית הֵיכָֽל

אֲשֶׁ֤ר  That 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
בָּנֵ֨ינוּ ׀  our  sons  [may  be] 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
כִּנְטִעִים֮  as  plants 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine plural
Root: נָטִיעַ  
Sense: plant (fig.
מְגֻדָּלִ֪ים  grown  up 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Participle, masculine plural
Root: גָּדַל  
Sense: to grow, become great or important, promote, make powerful, praise, magnify, do great things.
בִּֽנְעוּרֵ֫יהֶ֥ם  in  their  youth 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: נְעוּרִים 
Sense: youth, early life.
בְּנוֹתֵ֥ינוּ  [That]  our  daughters  [may  be] 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: בַּת  
Sense: daughter.
כְזָוִיֹּ֑ת  as  pillars 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: זָוִית  
Sense: corner.
מְ֝חֻטָּב֗וֹת  Sculptured 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Participle, feminine plural
Root: חָטַב  
Sense: to cut, gather.
תַּבְנִ֥ית  in  style 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: תַּבְנִית  
Sense: pattern, plan, form, construction, figure.
הֵיכָֽל  palace 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: הֵיכָל  
Sense: palace, temple, nave, sanctuary.