The Meaning of Psalms 116:12 Explained

Psalms 116:12

KJV: What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?

YLT: What do I return to Jehovah? All His benefits are upon me.

Darby: What shall I render unto Jehovah, for all his benefits toward me?

ASV: What shall I render unto Jehovah For all his benefits toward me?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

What shall I render  unto the LORD  [for] all his benefits  toward me? 

What does Psalms 116:12 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 116:12-19 - Praise Him For All His Benefits
The psalmist dwells joyfully on his enslavement to God, because in and through it he had found perfect liberty. Thou hast loosed my bonds. They who become enslaved to Christ are set free from all other restraints. See John 8:31-36. Do not forget to pay your vows! In trouble we make promises, which, when the trouble has passed, we find it convenient to forget. See Genesis 40:23.
Psalms 117:1-2 is the shortest chapter in the Bible and its center; but, small as it is, it breathes a world-wide spirit and reaches out to all nations. "It is a dewdrop reflecting the universe." The Apostle quotes it in Romans 15:11, as foretelling the call of the Gentiles. Here, as in Isaiah 11:10 and elsewhere, the spirit of the singer overleaps all national exclusiveness and comprehends all people and all time.
Let us learn to exercise the spirit of praise in our daily sphere. Surely we also can say that God's loving-kindness has been, and is, mighty over us. "Where sin abounded grace did much more abound." The permanence of this love is guaranteed by God's faithfulness; for his truth is his troth. The shortest prayer of praise should find room for Hallelujah! See Revelation 19:4. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 116

1  The psalmist professes his love and duty to God for his deliverance
12  He studies to be thankful

What do the individual words in Psalms 116:12 mean?

What shall I render to Yahweh [For] all His benefits toward me
מָֽה־ אָשִׁ֥יב לַיהוָ֑ה כָּֽל־ תַּגְמוּל֥וֹהִי עָלָֽי

אָשִׁ֥יב  shall  I  render 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
לַיהוָ֑ה  to  Yahweh 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
כָּֽל־  [For]  all 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
תַּגְמוּל֥וֹהִי  His  benefits 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: תַּגְמוּל  
Sense: benefit, act of grace.
עָלָֽי  toward  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.