The Meaning of Psalms 103:14 Explained

Psalms 103:14

KJV: For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

YLT: For He hath known our frame, Remembering that we are dust.

Darby: For himself knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

ASV: For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For he knoweth  our frame;  he remembereth  that we [are] dust. 

What does Psalms 103:14 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 103:13-22 - Everlasting Loving-Kindness
The psalmist comes from the far-reaching sky to the homely image of a father's pity. God is a great King, the mighty Creator, but the Spirit witnesses that we are His children and teaches us to say, Abba, Father. The idea of dust is that of frailty. Made of dust and fragile as an earthen vessel, man by his weakness appeals to Jehovah's compassion. The thought of frailty and helplessness is still further impressed by the figure of the fading flower, scorched by the hot desert wind. But, by force of contrast, the psalmist passes from man's brief span of life to God's eternal years. And God's love is as His life. Because God is eternal, His love is eternal. When once He loves, He loves always; He never wearies, never cools, and never lets go. A parent who fears God may leave a legacy of priceless worth to his children's children. See Psalms 103:17.
From Psalms 103:19 to the end, the psalmist pulls out all the stops in the great organ of existence. Angels and hosts of other intelligent beings who perform the Lord's will, all his works animate and inanimate, all saints, all souls, stars and suns, oceans, and mountains-all must join the "Hallelujah Chorus." [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 103

1  An exhortation to bless God for his mercy
5  And for the constancy thereof

What do the individual words in Psalms 103:14 mean?

For He knows our frame He remembers that dust we [are]
כִּי־ ה֖וּא יָדַ֣ע יִצְרֵ֑נוּ זָ֝כ֗וּר כִּי־ עָפָ֥ר אֲנָֽחְנוּ

יָדַ֣ע  knows 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
יִצְרֵ֑נוּ  our  frame 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common plural
Root: יֵצֶר  
Sense: form, framing, purpose, framework.
זָ֝כ֗וּר  He  remembers 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine singular
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
כִּי־  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
עָפָ֥ר  dust 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָפָר  
Sense: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.
אֲנָֽחְנוּ  we  [are] 
Parse: Pronoun, first person common plural
Root: אֲנַחְנוּ  
Sense: we (first pers.