The Meaning of Psalms 22:29 Explained

Psalms 22:29

KJV: All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.

YLT: And the fat ones of earth have eaten, And they bow themselves, Before Him bow do all going down to dust, And he who hath not revived his soul.

Darby: All the fat ones of the earth shall eat and worship; all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him, and he that cannot keep alive his own soul.

ASV: All the fat ones of the earth shall eat and worship: All they that go down to the dust shall bow before him, Even he that cannot keep his soul alive.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

All [they that be] fat  upon earth  shall eat  and worship:  all they that go down  to the dust  shall bow  before  him: and none can keep alive  his own soul. 

What does Psalms 22:29 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 22:16-31 - The Testimony Of The Delivered
In the middle of Psalms 22:21 there is a remarkable change from the plaintive to the triumphant: supplication and entreaty break out into exultation; hope saves the broken harp from the hands of despair, restrings it, and extracts from it strains to which angels, on their way home to God, are constrained to listen.
He who had said, Thou hearest not, Psalms 22:2, confesses that all the while God has been hearing and helping. Now Jesus will join the saints in psalms of praise. See John 17:26 (will make it known) and Hebrews 2:12. Man may abhor a worm, but God uses worms to thresh mountains, Isaiah 41:14-15.
In the closing verses there is a sure forecast of the effects of the death on the Cross not only upon the Jews, but also upon the ends of the earth, that is, the Gentiles. The usurper shall be dethroned, Psalms 22:28; resurrection shall be accomplished, Psalms 22:29; and a spiritual seed shall satisfy the Redeemer's travail, Psalms 22:30. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 22

1  David complains in great discouragement
9  He prays in great distress
23  He praises God

What do the individual words in Psalms 22:29 mean?

Shall eat and worship all the prosperous of earth before Him shall bow all those who go down to the dust and Even himself cannot he who keep alive
אָכְל֬וּ וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוּ֨וּ ׀‪‬ כָּֽל־ דִּשְׁנֵי־ אֶ֗רֶץ לְפָנָ֣יו יִ֭כְרְעוּ כָּל־ יוֹרְדֵ֣י עָפָ֑ר וְ֝נַפְשׁ֗וֹ לֹ֣א חִיָּֽה

אָכְל֬וּ  Shall  eat 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוּ֨וּ ׀‪‬  and  worship 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hitpael, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁחָה  
Sense: to bow down.
דִּשְׁנֵי־  the  prosperous 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural construct
Root: דָּשֵׁן  
Sense: fat subst.
אֶ֗רֶץ  of  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
לְפָנָ֣יו  before  Him 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
יִ֭כְרְעוּ  shall  bow 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: כָּרַע  
Sense: to bend, kneel, bow, bow down, sink down to one’s knees, kneel down to rest (of animals), kneel in reverence.
יוֹרְדֵ֣י  those  who  go  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
עָפָ֑ר  to  the  dust 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָפָר  
Sense: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.
וְ֝נַפְשׁ֗וֹ  and  Even  himself 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
לֹ֣א  cannot 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
חִיָּֽה  he  who  keep  alive 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָיָה  
Sense: to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.