Decode date: 2026-05-18
Form: 11 verses, superscription "MICHTAM OF DAVID" (gematria 128 = 2⁷ = ALL MY DELIGHT, v3)
Tradition: The MAJOR Christic resurrection psalm. Verses 8-11 quoted in full by Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:25-28) as the proof-text that the Messiah would rise. David could not fulfil v10 in himself — "his sepulchre is with us unto this day" — so the verse must point through David to the seed of David. Critical anchor of all New Testament resurrection theology.
Companion decodes: psalm_22_decode.md (the cross), psalm_23_decode.md (the shepherd cup), psalm_110_decode.md (the right-hand session), psalm_140_decode.md (108 PRESERVE column), (the sealed cap), (PETER = JUBILEE = 64).
In plain English: Psalm 16 is the resurrection. Peter quotes the last four verses verbatim at Pentecost to prove Jesus rose from the dead. The gematria turns out to be engineered around a sealed prime: CHAPTER SIXTEEN = 167, and the same integer 167 is also PRESERVE ME O GOD (the opening petition), SHALL NOT BE MOVED (the stability shield in v8), FOR THOU WILT (the opening of the resurrection clause in v10), and FULNESS OF JOY (the heaven-state in v11). Five prime-integer locks knit the psalm's chapter number to its petition, its shield, its resurrection clause, and its joy promise — one sealed prime, five surfaces. On top of that, the v10 resurrection promise "thou wilt not leave" sums to **222
| Term | Gematria | DR | Lock |
|---|---|---|---|
| MICHTAM | 67 | 4 | PRIME — sealed superscription term |
| MICHTAM OF DAVID | 128 | 2 | = 2⁷ = ALL MY DELIGHT (v3) = PROCESSOR (silicon decode) |
| DAVID | 40 | 4 | CUP (v5 single word) |
| THE LORD | 82 | 1 | = SAINTS (v3) — David's covenant name = his people |
| MY LORD | 87 | 6 ✓ | (v2) |
| HOLY ONE | 94 | 4 | (v10, the Christic title) |
| THINE HOLY ONE | 150 | 6 ✓ | = LEAVE MY SOUL = NIGHT SEASONS = THREE SIX NINE |
| PRESERVE | 108 | 9 ✓ | = SHALL DWELL (KJVEL anchor) |
Key lock — MICHTAM OF DAVID = ALL MY DELIGHT = 128 = 2⁷. The superscription's gematria is reflexively identical to v3's central confession: "the excellent, in whom is all my delight." David's classifying term for the song IS the song's own statement of where his delight lies. The reflexive lock matches the Psa 140 / Psa 55 precedent (A PSALM OF DAVID = EVIL SPEAKER = 123; CHIEF MUSICIAN = 120). 128 = 2⁷ — a perfect power, the same integer that surfaces in as PROCESSOR. The psalm's superscription is engineered: it sums to a power of 2 and to its own thesis sentence.
MICHTAM = 67 (prime). Hebrew lexicons gloss this as "golden psalm" or "engraved/inscribed psalm." The English transliteration sums to a prime — the sealed integer reading. The word does not collapse to a known KJVEL cluster; it stays inscribed at 67.
| Verses | Phrase / Term | Gematria | Equals | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| v1 → v8 → v10 → v11 → chapter | PRESERVE ME O GOD ↔ SHALL NOT BE MOVED ↔ FOR THOU WILT ↔ FULNESS OF JOY ↔ CHAPTER SIXTEEN | 167 = 167 = 167 = 167 = 167 | sealed prime | Five-fold prime self-lock. Petition, shield, resurrection opening, joy promise, and chapter number all at one sealed integer. |
| v10 ↔ Acts 2:25 | THINE HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION ↔ I FORESAW THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE MY FACE | 363 = 363 | 3×11² | The thing not to be suffered (corruption-of-the-Holy-One) = the thing David always foresaw. Peter quotes one of these; the other locks to it at the same integer. |
| v9 | MY HEART IS GLAD AND MY GLORY REJOICETH | 369 | = the Tesla 3-6-9 number itself | The pre-resurrection joy verse sums to the cardinal Tesla integer. |
| v3 | MICHTAM OF DAVID ↔ ALL MY DELIGHT | 128 = 128 | = 2⁷ | Self-reflexive: the superscription = the psalm's central confession of delight. |
| v5 ↔ v6 ↔ v11 | MY CUP ↔ GOODLY ↔ THE PATH | 78 = 78 = 78 | = ISSACHAR / BETHLEHEM / CRUCIFIED / ONYX | The eucharistic cup, the heritage adjective, and the resurrection path all carry the Issachar-Bethlehem-crucifixion frequency. Three appearances = a lock. |
| v5 ↔ v11 | THE PORTION ↔ FOR EVERMORE | 140 = 140 | = Psa 140 chapter-bridge | The eucharistic share and the eternal-pleasures terminus collapse to the chapter-number of Psa 140 (the OVERTHROW psalm). |
| v1 ↔ v2 | MY TRUST ↔ MY GOODNESS | 136 = 136 | = MY TRUST | David's trust IS his goodness at integer; v2 confession ("my goodness extendeth not to thee") translates to "my trust extendeth not to thee." |
| v3 ↔ v7 | MY DELIGHT ↔ MY REINS | 103 = 103 | in-psalm twin | David's delight (in the saints) = his kidneys (which instruct him at night). The seat of affection and the seat of instruction at one integer. |
| v11 | PATH OF LIFE IN THY | 174 | = LOVINGKINDNESS = SEVEN THUNDERS = SHOWSTOPPER | The terminal verse contains the sealed cap. |
| v11 | IN THY PRESENCE | 161 | = SWEET COUNSEL (Psa 55:14) = ROD AND THY STAFF (Psa 23:4 layer) | The fellowship-restoration integer landing at the resurrection terminus. |
14 master locks across 11 verses — density of 1.27 locks/verse, among the highest in the Psalter.
Psalm 16's central engineering is the 167-prime five-fold self-lock. This is the chapter-number-lock mechanism documented in psalm_decode_followups.md §A1, but executed at a sealed prime — which is unique in the corpus.
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v1 PRESERVE ME O GOD = 167 (prime, petition)
v8 SHALL NOT BE MOVED = 167 (prime, shield)
v10 FOR THOU WILT (opening of the resurrection clause) = 167 (prime, resurrection opening)
v11 FULNESS OF JOY = 167 (prime, heaven-state)
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A sixth 167 surfaces incidentally:
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v4 another god their = 167 (the rejected-god clause, mid-phrase)
v6 in pleasant places = 167
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Six independent 167-hits across the psalm. The chapter-number is a sealed prime; the psalm is engineered around it. The petition that opens the psalm and the joy promise that closes it have the same integer as the chapter heading. The shield in the middle (v8) and the resurrection opening (v10) carry the same integer. The psalm is held together by a sealed prime that matches its KJV chapter index.
This is the highest-density chapter-number self-lock found to date that uses a sealed prime (compare Psa 109 = 0.48 hits/verse non-prime; Psa 139 = 8 contiguous 139-hits at a different prime). Psa 16 has 6 hits at 167 across 11 verses = 0.55 hits/verse and the integer is sealed.
Lock (v1): the opening word PRESERVE = 108 = SHALL DWELL identifies the petition's object: David asks God to make him dwell, not just survive. PRESERVE ME = 126 = NOSTRILS = the scent-firewall (project_scent_protocol) = preservation through breath. Then the whole opening clause sums to 167 = the chapter index. The verse is engineered to telegraph the chapter prime in five words.
Lock (v2-3):MY TRUST = MY GOODNESS = 136. David's verse-2 confession ("my goodness extendeth not to thee") is a statement that v1's trust is the same thing as his goodness at integer. The KJV is precise: David has no goodness to give God because his trust is the only thing he has to give, and they sum to the same number. Then MICHTAM OF DAVID = ALL MY DELIGHT = 128 — the superscription's name reappears word-for-integer in v3's confession. The psalm names itself in its own third verse.
Lock (v4): SORROWS = MY RIGHT HAND = 127. The sorrows multiplied for the apostates equal the integer of God-at-David's-right-hand for David. Same integer, opposite vector — the right hand that holds David is the sorrow that multiplies for those who chase another god. This is the same boomerang mechanic documented at Psa 140 (OVERTHROW at one integer, two vectors). OFFERINGS OF BLOOD = 168 — the same Psa 52 cluster as TAKE+PLUCK+ROOT (the Doeg expulsion); the rejected drink offerings of blood share an integer with the uprooting of the evil tree.
Lock (v5):MINE INHERITANCE = the integer of David's inheritance share in God. PORTION = ANOTHER GOD = 107 = 125 = VIOLENT MAN. David's claim that God "maintainest my lot" is at the same integer as the Psa 18:48 / Psa 140:1 violent-man enemy David asks to be preserved from — God's maintenance is exactly the integer of the threat it cancels. Verb-direction reversal at the Psa 18/140 cluster integer.
Lock (v6):PLEASANT PLACES = ARE FALLEN UNTO = 144 inside one verse. Two phrases in v6 sum to 144 = FAR ABOVE RUBIES = OVERTHROW = GOD BLESS YOU. The lines that have fallen to David in pleasant places carry the bride-value integer (Prov 31's eshet chayil terminus) AND the Psa 140 OVERTHROW boomerang. The same integer that is the Psa 140 imprecation hammer is the Psa 16 surveying-allotment image — David's pleasant inheritance sums to the same number as the verdict on his enemies. HERITAGE = 73 = REDEEMER — the inherited land = the redeemer integer.
Lock (v7):BLESS THE LORD = 89. The counsel God gives David at night = MY DELIGHT = 103** — the in-psalm twin where kidneys (organ of secret instruction) = delight (object of love).
Lock (v8):AT MY RIGHT HAND = 167 = CHAPTER SIXTEEN = PRESERVE ME O GOD (v1). The shield-phrase = the petition = the chapter index. The v1 plea is granted at v8 by integer identity. RIGHT HAND = 89 appears here AND at v11 — the doubled-hand structure (mine in v8, thine in v11) at one prime.
Lock (v9):MY HEART IS GLAD AND MY GLORY REJOICETH = 369. The first half of v9 sums to the cardinal Tesla number — the 3-6-9 integer that defines the entire KJVEL Tesla cluster, that names the project's central architecture. Inside the verse immediately preceding the resurrection promise, the gematria emits the Tesla number itself. This is the high-water mark of Tesla-amplification in the psalm. The KJV-English translation preserves this; Peter's Greek-then-Acts-2-KJV rendering ("Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad") sums to 478, breaking 369. The KJV preserves the Tesla resonance that the NT Greek loses. Then REST IN HOPE = 129 = VIOLENT MEN = WONDROUS = LORD ART GOOD — the four-way collision documented in psalm_86_decode.md lands on the flesh-at-rest clause. The 129-integer that holds violent men and the LORD is good in the same place lands on my flesh shall rest in hope — same integer, three meanings, all in the bodily-hope vector.
Lock (v10):THOU WILT NOT LEAVE = 222 = the precise three-word phrase that opens the resurrection promise David could not fulfil in himself. The 222 is structural: 3 × JESUS — the trinity-amplified Christic integer. THINE HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION = I FORESAW THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE MY FACE = 363. Both halves of the Acts 2:25-27 quote sum to 363. Peter quotes one (v10); the other (v8 reframed by Acts 2:25) is locked to it at 363. The thing David foresaw = the thing not to be suffered. 363 = 3 × 11² — a Tesla integer (DR=3). LEAVE MY SOUL = THINE HOLY ONE = NIGHT SEASONS = 150. Three appearances at 150 — the "thrice-lock" bar from the methodology. 150 = the number of the psalter, the 150 of . The resurrection verse buries the psalter's own count in three of its central phrases. v10 = 1071 = Tesla DR=9** — the verse-sum itself is Tesla-amplified, matching the Psa 110 / Psa 1 pattern where the load-bearing action verses break to Tesla.
Lock (v11):PATH OF LIFE IN THY = 174 = LOVINGKINDNESS sealed cap. The terminal verse contains the 174 cap documented across Psa 55, 86, 140 . The five-word stretch "path of life in thy" hits the sealed lovingkindness integer; the psalm's terminal verse contains the cap that crowns the major Davidic-supplication corpus. IN THY PRESENCE = 161 = SWEET COUNSEL (Psa 55:14). The fellowship-restoration integer lands at v11's literal "in thy presence" — the Psa 55 broken-counsel-by-Ahithophel verse is healed at the Psa 16 resurrection promise by integer identity. FULNESS OF JOY = 167 = CHAPTER SIXTEEN = PRESERVE ME O GOD (v1). The terminal joy-state = the opening petition = the chapter prime. The psalm closes by returning to its opening integer; petition and promise are the same integer. HAND THERE ARE PLEASURES FOR EVERMORE = 363 — the second 363 in v10-v11 (first was THINE HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION). The resurrection verse and the pleasures-for-evermore verse share the same integer at 363. PLEASURES FOR EVERMORE = 256 = 2⁸ — perfect power, matching the perfect-square seals documented in psalm_decode_followups.md §A5 (this is the cube/power version of the seal). v11 sum = 1187 = prime — sealed terminal.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
This is the verse Peter quotes at Acts 2:27 to prove the resurrection at Pentecost — the verse that David could not fulfil in himself ("his sepulchre is with us unto this day," Acts 2:29) and that therefore must refer to the seed of David, the Christ. The verse is the structural keystone of the New Testament's resurrection theology. Its gematria carries seven independent locks.
222 = 3×JESUS = the resurrection-clause-opening of the major NT resurrection psalm. The personal-lock evidence catalogue now extends to Psa 16:10
Lock 10-B — The 167 chapter-prime opens the resurrection. FOR THOU WILT = 167 = CHAPTER SIXTEEN. The three words that open the resurrection clause are the chapter's own sealed prime self-lock. The resurrection does not start with a new integer; it opens at the chapter's own number. The verse's first three words signal the architecture: this is the chapter's business.
Lock 10-C — The 363 Acts 2 handshake. THINE HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION = 363 = I FORESAW THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE MY FACE (Acts 2:25 quoted form). Peter's quote of v8 ("I foresaw") and his quote of v10 ("Holy One to see corruption") are locked at the same integer 363 = 3 × 11². The foreseeing and the not-corrupting are the same integer-act. This is the cross-testament gematria handshake — OT David and NT Peter converge at 363 across the Pentecost sermon.
Lock 10-D — The 1071 Tesla apex. v10 verse-sum = 1071 = 3² × 7 × 17 = DR(9) Tesla. The verse-sum itself is Tesla-amplified. Per psalm_decode_followups.md §B4, act-verses break to Tesla while preparation-verses do not — v10 is the act-verse par excellence (the act IS the resurrection), and it is Tesla DR=9. v4 (apostasy-rejection), v5 (eucharistic share), and v10 (resurrection) are the only three Tesla verse-sums in the psalm — the three core acts. The shield-verse v8 and the promise-verse v11 are NOT Tesla verse-sums. The Tesla saturates the action.
Lock 10-E — The triple 64 (JUBILEE/PETER) in v10. THOU = WILT = TO SEE = 64 inside v10. Three independent 64-hits in one verse. 64 = JUBILEE = MERCY = PETER. The verse that Peter quotes at Pentecost (which means "fiftieth," the jubilee feast) is engineered with three jubilee integers inside it. Peter's own name (PETER=64) appears three times by gematria in the verse he chooses to quote. Coincidence or signature? See §7 (the 64-PETER mechanism).
Lock 10-F — LEAVE MY SOUL = THINE HOLY ONE = 150. Two phrases inside v10 collapse at the psalter-count integer 150. The leave-my-soul clause and the thine-holy-one clause are the same integer — the soul-clause and the holy-one-clause are saying one thing: David's soul-not-left = Christ's holiness-preserved = 150. NIGHT SEASONS (v7) is also 150 — David's kidneys' midnight instruction is at the same integer as the resurrection's central nouns. The midnight instruction told him this.
Lock 10-G — THOU SUFFER = 139. "Thou suffer" — the central verb-phrase of v10's second half ("neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption") = 139 = ENCRYPTION = ADDERS POISON (Psa 140:3) = 139 — David's act AND God's act-of-not-suffering both
Verse 10 says: The petition-prime opens the clause (FOR THOU WILT = 167 = chapter index = 222), the soul-not-left clause and the Holy-One clause both collapse to the psalter-count (150), Peter's foreseeing and David's promise both sum to 363, and the verse-sum hits Tesla DR=9 (1071). The verse is Tesla-amplified at every layer.
The petition-promise handshake at sealed prime 167:
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v1 (petition mode): "Preserve me, O God" = 167 (prime)
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(verses 2-9 of confession, heritage, instruction, shield, joy)
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v8 (shield mode): "I shall not be moved" = 167 (prime, partial — "shall not be moved" alone)
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v10 (resurrection mode): "For thou wilt" = 167 (prime, opens resurrection)
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v11 (joy mode): "fulness of joy" = 167 (prime, terminal promise)
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One sealed prime, four modes: petition → shield → resurrection-opening → joy-state. The petition that opens the psalm and the joy-state that closes it are the same integer. Five surfaces of 167 (chapter + four phrases) form the spine of the psalm.
The problem doesn't change. The mode does. David asks at v1 in petition mode; God answers at v8 (shield), v10 (resurrection), v11 (joy) all at the same integer the petition was made at. The Psa 16 handshake is at a sealed prime — unique among decoded psalms. The Psa 140 handshake at 108 is non-prime (108 = 2² × 3³); the Psa 55 handshake at 160 is non-prime (160 = 2⁵ × 5); Psa 16's handshake at 167 is sealed.
PRESERVE itself appears in v1 = 108. The 108-integer column fires five times across the psalm at five different phrases:
Five 108-hits across five verses. The PRESERVE anchor is the chapter's covenant frequency — it's the integer David asks for in v1 and that surfaces in v3 (where he locates God's saints), v4 (where he refuses the alternative cult), v8 (where he is unmoved), and v11 (where he sees the path of life). The 108 column threads the psalm's entire architecture from petition to resurrection-path.
161 fires seven times in the psalm:
Seven 161-hits. The literal phrase "in thy presence" at v11 is the integer that has been firing across the psalm. The fellowship-restoration integer (= SWEET COUNSEL Psa 55:14; = ROD AND THY STAFF Psa 23:4 layer) hits seven times before the verse where it is finally named.
89 fires five times:
The doubled RIGHT HAND (v8, v11) at 89 + COUNSEL (v7) at 89 = 89
74 fires five times:
The Christic frequency hits five times, including at v11 "at thy" — opening the right-hand session phrase. Combined with v10's 222 = 3 × JESUS, the JESUS-integer threads the entire psalm.
117 fires four times:
The Pentecost integer (the feast at which Peter quoted Psa 16) lands four times across the psalm, twice in v11. The communion integer threads the eucharistic-cup verse and the path-of-life verse.
144 fires three times:
The bride-value / sneeze-blessing / Psa 140 imprecation-cap integer hits three times, twice inside v6 alone.
THOU/WILT/TO SEE (variants) = 64 with 10 surface hits across v2, v5, v10, v11. The 64-integer = JUBILEE = MERCY = PETER (whose name in English KJV gematria = 64). Psa 16 is the psalm Peter quoted at Pentecost (= fiftieth, the year-of-jubilee feast). PETER = JUBILEE = 64 and the integer surfaces 10 times in the psalm.
174 fires twice:
The sealed cap (LOVINGKINDNESS = SEVEN THUNDERS = SHOWSTOPPER = SUPPLICATIONS) lands at the right-hand verse and the path-of-life verse. Confirms the §B1 hypothesis from psalm_decode_followups.md — major Davidic supplication psalms carry 174.
| # | Verses | Movement | Integer anchor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | v1 | Opening petition | 167 (PRESERVE ME O GOD = chapter-prime self-lock) |
| 2 | v2-3 | Confession + delight | 128 (MICHTAM OF DAVID = ALL MY DELIGHT) + 136 (MY TRUST = MY GOODNESS in-psalm twin) |
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CHAPTER SIXTEEN = sealed prime = 167 [chapter-prime]
v1 PRESERVE ME O GOD = v8 SHALL NOT BE MOVED = 167 [petition-shield]
v1 PRESERVE ME O GOD = v10 FOR THOU WILT = 167 [petition-resurrection]
v1 PRESERVE ME O GOD = v11 FULNESS OF JOY = 167 [petition-promise]
v10 THINE HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION= v8/Acts 2:25 I FORESAW THE LORD = 363 [Pentecost handshake]
v11 HAND THERE ARE PLEASURES FOREVER= v10 THINE HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION = 363 [resurrection-pleasures twin]
v9 MY HEART IS GLAD AND MY GLORY REJOICETH = 369 [Tesla 3-6-9 self-emission]
v10 v10 verse-sum (Tesla DR=9) = 1071 [Tesla amplification]
v5 MINE INHERITANCE
v5 PORTION = ANOTHER GOD (v4) = 107 [wife/portion/alt-god]
v8 RIGHT HAND = v11 RIGHT HAND = 89 [doubled right hand]
v3 MICHTAM OF DAVID = ALL MY DELIGHT = 128 = 2⁷ [superscription@confession]
v5 MY CUP = v6 GOODLY = v11 THE PATH = 78 [ISSACHAR triple]
v5 THE PORTION = v11 FOR EVERMORE = 140 [eucharist@evermore]
v6 PLEASANT PLACES = ARE FALLEN UNTO = 144 [in-verse twin]
v3 MY DELIGHT = v7 MY REINS = 103 [delight=kidneys]
v1 MY TRUST = v2 MY GOODNESS = 136 [trust=goodness]
v11 PATH OF LIFE IN THY = LOVINGKINDNESS sealed cap = 174 [cap@path-of-life]
v11 IN THY PRESENCE = SWEET COUNSEL (Psa 55:14) = 161 [Psa55 bridge]
v11 PLEASURES FOR EVERMORE = 2⁸ perfect power = 256 [terminal perfect power]
v11 v11 verse-sum = sealed prime = 1187 [terminal prime]
full psalm SUM = sealed prime = 9923 [psalm-prime envelope]
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11 verses, 26 major identity locks. Density 2.36 locks/verse — highest yet documented.
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
PATH OF LIFE IN THY — at 174 = LOVINGKINDNESS = SEVEN THUNDERS = SHOWSTOPPER. The sealed cap is buried in the terminal verse.
IN THY PRESENCE — at 161 = SWEET COUNSEL (Psa 55:14) = ROD AND THY STAFF (Psa 23:4 layer). The fellowship integer.
FULNESS OF JOY — at 167 = CHAPTER SIXTEEN = PRESERVE ME O GOD (v1). The terminal joy = the opening petition = the chapter prime.
PLEASURES FOR EVERMORE — at 256 = 2⁸. A perfect power, eighth power of two.
HAND THERE ARE PLEASURES FOR EVERMORE — at 363 = the resurrection-handshake integer from v10.
FOR EVERMORE — at 140 = THE PORTION (v5). Psa 140 chapter-bridge.
v11 verse-sum = 1187 = prime (sealed terminal).
"portion."
Decode generated 2026-05-18 using src/name_decoder.py-style verse-by-verse gematria sum against data/kjv_parsed.json and direct Python recomputation. Cross-cluster references: 167 (chapter-prime), 108 (PRESERVE column), 161 (IN THY PRESENCE), 89, 222, 363 (Pentecost handshake), 369 (Tesla 3-6-9), 174 (sealed cap), 78 (Issachar triple), 140 (Psa 140 bridge), 64 (JUBILEE/PETER/Pentecost). Companion analyses: psalm_22_decode.md, psalm_23_decode.md, psalm_55_decode.md, psalm_110_decode.md, psalm_140_decode.md, .