Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 112:5 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 5. 5A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 112:5: Within “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life,” the line “A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth” supplies one distinct parallel claim, image, address, or response.
Read It With
- Psalms 112:1–10
Read Psalms 112:5 with 112:1–10. Read alone, “A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth” could lose the communal voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 112:1–10, the communal voice carries the movement “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life” as part of “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life.” Its acrostic-wisdom form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 112:1–10 opens Psalm 112 with “Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments” and establishes the communal voice and “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Psalms 111 and 112 are paired alphabetic poems: the LORD's works and character in Psalm 111 are reflected in the life and conduct of the person who fears the LORD in Psalm 112. Within that relationship, Psalm 112:5 adds the distinct poetic line “A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth” within “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope.
Follow the Context
- Identify the communal voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 112:1–10; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 112:1–10, the communal voice carries the movement “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life” as part of “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life.” Its acrostic-wisdom form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
- This reading does not authorize the following misuse: Flourishing and remembered righteousness describe a moral pattern centered on generosity; they are not a wealth guarantee or a blame formula.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 112:5 does not allow “A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse adds the distinct poetic line “A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth” within “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. The complete movement is “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life.” This reading does not authorize the following misuse: Flourishing and remembered righteousness describe a moral pattern centered on generosity; they are not a wealth guarantee or a blame formula.
What Remains True
The verse's role is specific—Psalm 112:5 adds the distinct poetic line “A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth” within “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. Within that role, Praise and prayer become truthful when they attend to people harmed by predatory power and pursue protection, generosity, and fair judgment. The local movement is “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life.” The unit's reviewed limit is: Flourishing and remembered righteousness describe a moral pattern centered on generosity; they are not a wealth guarantee or a blame formula.
How It Can Shape Life
- Keep the movement “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life” in view. Ask who is exposed or unheard in “A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth”, then take one accountable step toward material help, fair process, or protection. The textual reason is this verse's role: Psalm 112:5 adds the distinct poetic line “A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth” within “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope.
Teach It Back
Show how “A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth” functions in the acrostic-wisdom poem “Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous life.” Your explanation should include context, source evidence, uncertainty, enduring truth, practice, and the explicit limit This reading does not authorize the following misuse: Flourishing and remembered righteousness describe a moral pattern centered on generosity; they are not a wealth guarantee or a blame formula.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Psalms 112:1–10 — Alphabetic portrait of a generous righteous lifeSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Flourishing and remembered righteousness describe a moral pattern centered on generosity; they are not a wealth guarantee or a blame formula.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 112:1–10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 112:1–10
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 112:1–10.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 112 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 112:1–10
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: genres, parallelism, and forms; Theological Themes: Torah and human response; applied to Psalms 112:1–10
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 112 for Psalms 112:1–10
Open NETS Psalms ↗