כִּ֣י

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 כִּ֣י

   KI

   for or because
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 כִּ֣י ט֔וֹב

   KI TOV

   for or because he is good
3. sentence🔊 הוֹד֤וּ לַיהוָה֙ כִּ֣י ט֔וֹב כִּ֥י לְעוֹלָ֖ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃

   ho-DOO la-ye-ho-VAH KI TOV KI le-o-LAM kha-sed-DO

   give thanks to the LORD for or because he is good for or because to forever or for eternity his steadfast love or his covenant loyalty

Exegesis

Two parallel causal clauses introduced by ki {כִּי | kî} provide the grounds for praise: first, ki tov {כִּי ט֔וֹב | kî ṭôv} is a verbless predication (“for {He} good”), where the subject is understood from context (the LORD) and English supplies the copula with “He is.”

Second, ki leolam chasdo {כִּ֥י לְעוֹלָ֖ם חַסְדּֽוֹ | kî lə-ʿô·lām ḥas·dô} presents a tersely ordered clause in which the fronted duration phrase leolam ‘to forever’ highlights permanence, while chasdo ‘His steadfast love’ states the enduring basis for worship. The English renderings preserve the double-reason structure (“for…for / because…because”) to keep the verse’s balanced, liturgical parallelism.