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Psalms 45:8

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

All thy garments [smell] of myrrh, and aloes, [and] cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.

Psalms 45:8 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Psalms 45:8

Theological / Devotional

All thy garments. The clause reads literally, “myrrh and aloes and cassia, all thy garments.” His garments are so saturated with perfumes that they seem to constitute his very clothing.

Myrrh. A fragrant exudation from a tree found in Arabia (see Gen. 43:11; Esther 2:12; S. of Sol. 4:6; Matt. 2:11; John 19:39).

Aloes. A fragrant substance produced by burning an aromatic wood from India and Ceylon (see Prov. 7:17; S. of Sol. 4:14). Not to be confused with the modern bitter medicine called aloes.

Cassia. A bark resembling cinnamon, but less aromatic, grown in India.

Ivory palaces. Palaces adorned with ivory, as the celebrated palace of Ahab in Samaria (see on 1 Kings 22:39; cf. Amos 3:15).

Whereby. Heb. minni, archaic of min, meaning “from,” or “whence.” A slight change to minnim yields the translation “stringed instruments” (see RSV; cf. Ps. 150:4). The ancient versions support the reading of the Hebrew text.

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