The Meaning of Psalms 68:20 Explained

Psalms 68:20

KJV: He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.

YLT: God Himself is to us a God for deliverances, And Jehovah Lord hath the outgoings of death.

Darby: Our God is the God of salvation; and with Jehovah, the Lord, are the goings forth even from death.

ASV: God is unto us a God of deliverances; And unto Jehovah the Lord belongeth escape from death.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[He that is] our God  [is] the God  of salvation;  and unto GOD  the Lord  [belong] the issues  from death. 

What does Psalms 68:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 68:12-25 - Their Mighty Deliverer
The processional march still continues. Presently Mount Zion comes in sight, and the neighboring hills are depicted as eying it enviously for its selection in preference to themselves. In Psalms 68:17-18 the glad throng begins to climb the sacred slopes of Zion, amid still more triumphant strains; and in Psalms 68:19, etc., the gates of the sanctuary stand wide open to welcome the festal crowds.
How great the contrast between the blackened appearance of a smoky caldron, and the lustrous sheen of a bird's pinions as they flash in the sunlight! Psalms 68:13. Yet that is the contrast between what we were, and what we now are. Zalmon, Psalms 68:14 -perhaps a reference to the wooded hill near Shechem, mentioned in Judges 9:48. The hostile kings were scattered as snowflakes are driven before the wind and melt in the sun. The hill Bashan, Psalms 68:15, is a snow-clad summit, but Zion is greater, since God is there. In the triumphant words of Psalms 68:18, the singer quotes Judges 5:12, and they are applied in Ephesians 4:8 to our Lord's ascension. Note the r.v. rendering of Psalms 68:19 -that the Lord daily beareth our burdens. Singers, minstrels, and girls with timbrels, Psalms 68:25 -all have a share in the Church's joy. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 68

1  A prayer at the removing of the ark
4  An exhortation to praise God for his mercies
7  for his care of the church
19  for his great works

What do the individual words in Psalms 68:20 mean?

God [is] Our the God of salvation and to GOD the Lord from death [belong] escapes
הָ֤אֵ֣ל ׀ לָנוּ֮ אֵ֤ל לְֽמוֹשָׁ֫ע֥וֹת וְלֵיהוִ֥ה אֲדֹנָ֑י לַ֝מָּ֗וֶת תּוֹצָאֽוֹת

הָ֤אֵ֣ל ׀  God  [is] 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵל 
Sense: god, god-like one, mighty one.
לָנוּ֮  Our 
Parse: Preposition, first person common plural
אֵ֤ל  the  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵל 
Sense: god, god-like one, mighty one.
לְֽמוֹשָׁ֫ע֥וֹת  of  salvation 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine plural
Root: מֹושָׁעָה  
Sense: saving act, deliverance.
וְלֵיהוִ֥ה  and  to  GOD 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
אֲדֹנָ֑י  the  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.
לַ֝מָּ֗וֶת  from  death 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָוֶת  
Sense: death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead.
תּוֹצָאֽוֹת  [belong]  escapes 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: תֹּוצָאֹות  
Sense: outgoing, border, a going out, extremity, end, source, escape.