Psalm 65 11

Psalm 65:11 kjv

Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.

Psalm 65:11 nkjv

You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance.

Psalm 65:11 niv

You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.

Psalm 65:11 esv

You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.

Psalm 65:11 nlt

You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.

Psalm 65 verses

Psalm 65 11 Meaning

Psalm 65:11 proclaims God's generous provision throughout the agricultural year, symbolizing His constant benevolent presence and activity in the world. He "crowns" the year, not merely providing but bestowing honor and completion, saturating the land with His overflowing goodness. His pathways, or His movements, are visibly abundant with richness, signifying the tangible and pervasive nature of His divine blessings, ensuring fertility and prosperity.

Psalm 65 11 Context

Psalm 65 is a psalm of thanksgiving, specifically celebrating God's provision for His people through nature. The first part (v. 1-4) praises God for hearing prayer and atoning for sin, acknowledging His universal holiness. The middle section (v. 5-8) expands on God's awe-inspiring power and sovereignty over the seas and the nations. The latter part of the psalm (v. 9-13), which includes verse 11, focuses on God's active involvement in providing agricultural fertility and abundance. This movement within the psalm shows that God, who is sovereign over all creation and hears the prayers of His people, is also intimately involved in the practical sustenance of life through His gift of rain and fertile seasons. In an agrarian society, where harvests were crucial for survival, this direct divine intervention highlighted God as the true source of life and prosperity, often in contrast to the false claims of pagan fertility deities like Baal.

Psalm 65 11 Word analysis

• You crown (עִטַּרְתָּ, ʿiṭṭartā): From the Hebrew verb עָטַר (atar), meaning "to encircle, to crown, to adorn." This signifies more than mere provision; it denotes God's deliberate act of bringing something to a glorious completion or bestowing honor upon it. The "year" is personified, receiving a regal, beautiful completion by God's hand. This emphasizes God's sovereign and qualitative enrichment, not just quantitative supply.
• the year (שְׁנַת, šĕnat): Refers to the entire cycle of twelve months, encompassing all seasons, from planting to harvest. This indicates God's continuous and overarching care for the entire duration of the agricultural and human calendar, not just isolated acts of provision.
• with your bounty (טוֹבָה, ṭôḇâ): From the root טוֹב (ṭob), meaning "goodness, favor, prosperity, welfare, bounty." It speaks to the inherent good and pleasant quality of what God provides, stemming directly from His nature. It's not just things, but the flourishing state produced by His benevolence.
• your carts (וּמַעְגָּלֶיךָ, ûmaʿgālêḵā): From מַעְגָּל (ma'gal), which means "track," "path," "entrenched track," or "wagon track." This imagery suggests God's movement across the land. It refers to the physical pathways where His work of blessing is evident. The idea of "carts" could imply the vast conveyances of God's blessings, or the furrows in a field where rain has passed. It describes the physical, visible signs left by God's ongoing, bountiful work.
• overflow (יִרְעֲפוּן, yirʿăp̄ûn): From רָעַף (ra'aph), meaning "to drip," "to distill," "to trickle down." This conveys a sense of steady, copious, and pervasive dripping or flowing, rather than a sudden burst. It suggests a constant saturation and soaking, allowing for deep penetration of the bounty into the ground. It paints a picture of fertile, water-saturated land.
• with abundance (דָּשֶׁן, dāšen): Meaning "fatness," "richness," "fertility," or "plumpness." This term describes the rich, fertile produce or the saturated, fertile condition of the land itself, indicating a state of being full, well-fed, and productive. It signifies prosperity and robust growth.

Words-group analysis:

• "You crown the year with your bounty": This phrase highlights God's active role as the source of blessing for the entire cycle of seasons. He doesn't just enable growth, but actively completes and honors the year with His goodness, emphasizing His sovereign power and benevolent intention over time and productivity. It's a regal metaphor for comprehensive blessing.
• "your carts overflow with abundance": This illustrates the tangible, pervasive, and unmistakable manifestation of God's bounty. The paths or tracks (of His presence or work) are so saturated with His overflowing provision that they visibly "drip" with richness and fertility. This vivid agricultural imagery underscores the tangible effects of God's overflowing blessing throughout the physical land, indicating that everywhere God has been, there is abundance.

Psalm 65 11 Bonus section

• Agricultural Worldview: This verse resonates deeply with an ancient agrarian society, whose very survival depended on the annual agricultural cycle. The images of rain, fruitful land, and harvest were central to their existence, making God's direct involvement in these matters incredibly significant and cause for profound praise and trust.
• Contrast to Baal Worship: In ancient Canaan, the worship of Baal was primarily focused on rain and fertility. By attributing the "crowning of the year" and the "overflowing abundance" solely to Yahweh, the Psalmist directly counters and implicitly polemicizes against the pagan worldview, declaring YHWH's exclusive sovereignty over nature and provision.
• Divine Presence: The phrase "your carts" or "your paths" can suggest the very "footprints" or "travel" of God across His creation, leaving trails of fertility and life wherever He moves. It implies an intimate and active presence, not a distant or disengaged deity.

Psalm 65 11 Commentary

Psalm 65:11 beautifully encapsulates God's ultimate role as the divine Sustainer, providing abundant blessings not just sporadically, but consistently throughout the annual cycle. The "crowning" metaphor illustrates God's magnificent completion of the year, bringing it to a full and honorable state of fruitfulness. It's a statement that the year's success is not due to human effort alone or the capricious whims of nature, but the direct, intentional act of God. The image of His "paths" overflowing with "abundance" visually conveys the pervasive nature of His generosity; His benevolent influence is not confined but flows widely, saturating the land. This declaration served as a potent theological challenge to pagan beliefs that attributed agricultural fertility to other deities, asserting YHWH as the sole and supreme provider. It invites worshipers to trust in God's faithful provision for every season of life, acknowledging that all good things, particularly bountiful harvests, are gifts from His overflowing hand.