Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Psalms 98:5 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 5. 5Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 98:5: The summons “Sing unto the LORD with the harp” draws listeners into the shared movement “A new song for justice before all creation.”
The new song is victory already shown, first to Israel and then to the ends of the earth
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 98:1–9. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 98:1–9
Read Psalms 98:5 with 98:1–9. Read alone, “Sing unto the LORD with the harp” could lose the communal voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 98:1–9, the communal voice carries the movement “A new song for justice before all creation” as part of “A new song for justice before all creation.” Its divine-kingship-hymn form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 98:1–9 opens Psalm 98 with “O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and…” and establishes the communal voice and “A new song for justice before all creation” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Within that relationship, Psalm 98:5 summons praise or participation with “Sing unto the LORD with the harp” as one part of the psalm's communal movement.
What Remains True
Psalm 98:5 carries “Sing unto the LORD with the harp” inside the divine-kingship-hymn movement “A new song for justice before all creation.” Its durable contribution is this: 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 “A new song for justice before all creation.” The unit's reviewed limit is: Public salvation and cosmic praise center equitable judgment; they do not privilege one modern nation or justify coercion.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 98:1–9 — A new song for justice before all creationSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
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 98:1–9, 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 98:1–9
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 98:1–9.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 98 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 98:1–9
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗