הֵיטִ֣יבָה (hê·ṭî·ḇāh) in Psalms 51:18: Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
הֵיטִ֣יבָה (hê·ṭî·ḇāh) in Psalms 51:18
Source Word
The BSB+ row for Psalms 51:18 links the English rendering "to prosper" with הֵיטִ֣יבָה, Strong's H3190, and the parsing label V-Hifil-Imp-ms | 3fs.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form helps readers hear Psalm 51 moving from personal restoration toward communal restoration. It is a prayer for God to do good concerning Zion, not a formula for generic prosperity.
How To Communicate It
Explain this as an imperative used in prayerful appeal, with the suffix read in relation to Zion. That keeps the request urgent and dependent without overloading the Hifil stem or the English word "prosper."
What Not To Say
- Grammar should serve context, not override it.
- Do not make the imperative label prove more than the sentence supports.
- Do not use the stem label by itself to settle a theological claim.
- Do not treat this occurrence as a complete word study for the whole Hebrew lemma.
- Do not treat the attached suffix as a full theology of the participant; let the verse identify the relationship.
What Does The Label Mean?
Hebrew-verb
Verb
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Third person feminine singular
Hifil
Imperative
Not marked
Masculine
Singular
The imperative presents the form as a directed command or appeal in Psalms 51:18, but the verse still supplies the speaker, audience, and purpose.
This form carries the BSB rendering "to prosper" within Psalms 51:18. Psalm 51 gives language for confession, cleansing, restoration, renewed joy, and renewed praise before God.
What The Form Does In This Verse
The prayer appeal rendered "to prosper" in Psalms 51:18
The imperative belongs to the request that God would do good to Zion in his good pleasure.
It presents a directed appeal to God for Zion's good, with the third feminine singular suffix tied to the feminine object in the verse's Zion language.
It does not make the imperative a human command over God, and it does not make the Hifil stem alone prove a full theology of prosperity.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The form carries a prayer appeal for Zion's good in Psalm 51's restoration movement.
Prayer imperative with third feminine singular suffix. asks God to act for Zion's good. Attached to the request that God would do good to Zion. Governed by the prayer address to God in Psalms 51:18. The imperative marks urgent appeal, and the suffix must be read from the verse's Zion context.
What is the speaker asking God to do for Zion? The speaker asks God to do good concerning Zion, rendered here with "to prosper."
Direct: The Hifil imperative and suffix directly support the verbal request rendered "to prosper" in this verse.
The third feminine singular suffix should be read with the verse's Zion language, but it should not be made to carry more than the clause supplies. Imperatives in prayer express appeal to God, not human authority over God.
Imperative means the speaker commands God with authority: In prayer, the imperative expresses urgent dependent appeal. Hifil always means a full causative doctrine: Hifil marks the stem, but the verse and rendering decide how the request is communicated.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The BSB+ row for Psalms 51:18 links the English rendering "to prosper" with הֵיטִ֣יבָה, Strong's H3190, and the parsing label V-Hifil-Imp-ms | 3fs.
H3190 is represented here by the lemma יָטַב. In this occurrence, the public guide is limited to the BSB rendering "to prosper" rather than every possible gloss of the entry.
The Hifil imperative is addressed to God in prayer, asking him to do good concerning Zion. The feminine singular suffix is read within the verse's Zion language, while the prayer context keeps the imperative as dependent appeal rather than control over God.
Psalm 51 gives language for confession, cleansing, restoration, renewed joy, and renewed praise before God.
The form fits Scripture's pattern of repentance, mercy, cleansing, and restored worship before the Lord.
When teaching Psalms 51:18, use this form to show that restoration prayer moves from personal confession toward Zion's good, while guarding against turning "prosper" into a detached promise of success.
Do not derive a full word study, grammar doctrine, or prosperity theology from V-Hifil-Imp-ms | 3fs alone. The form identifies the occurrence-level prayer appeal.