Psalm 46
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 46[a]
God, the Protector of Zion
1 For the leader. A song of the Korahites. According to alamoth.[b]
I
2 God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.(A)
3 [c]Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken
and mountains quake to the depths of the sea,
4 Though its waters rage and foam
and mountains totter at its surging.(B)
Selah
II
5 [d]Streams of the river gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.(C)
6 God is in its midst; it shall not be shaken;
God will help it at break of day.(D)
7 Though nations rage and kingdoms totter,
he utters his voice and the earth melts.(E)
8 [e]The Lord of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Selah
III
9 Come and see the works of the Lord,
who has done fearsome deeds on earth;(F)
10 Who stops wars to the ends of the earth,
breaks the bow, splinters the spear,
and burns the shields with fire;(G)
11 (H)“Be still and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
exalted on the earth.”
12 The Lord of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Selah
Footnotes
- Psalm 46 A song of confidence in God’s protection of Zion with close parallels to Ps 48. The dominant note in Ps 46 is sounded by the refrain, The Lord of hosts is with us (Ps 46:8, 12). The first strophe (Ps 46:2–4) sings of the security of God’s presence even in utter chaos; the second (Ps 46:5–8), of divine protection of the city from its enemies; the third (Ps 46:9–11), of God’s imposition of imperial peace.
- 46:1 Alamoth: the melody of the Psalm, now lost.
- 46:3–4 Figurative ancient Near Eastern language to describe social and political upheavals.
- 46:5 Jerusalem is not situated on a river. This description derives from mythological descriptions of the divine abode and symbolizes the divine presence as the source of all life (cf. Is 33:21; Ez 47:1–12; Jl 4:18; Zec 14:8; Rev 22:1–2).
- 46:8 The first line of the refrain is similar in structure and meaning to Isaiah’s name for the royal child, Emmanuel, With us is God (Is 7:14; 8:8, 10).
2 Chronicles 18:12-22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
12 [a]Meanwhile the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah said to him: “Look now, the words of the prophets are as one in speaking good for the king. Let your word be at one with theirs; speak a good word.” 13 Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I shall speak whatever my God says.”
14 When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micah, shall we go to fight at Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” He said, “Attack and conquer! They will be delivered into your power.” 15 But the king answered him, “How many times must I adjure you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 16 So Micaiah said:
“I see all Israel
scattered on the mountains,
like sheep without a shepherd,
And the Lord saying,
These have no masters!
Let each of them go back home in peace.”
17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you, he does not prophesy good about me, but only evil?” 18 Micaiah continued: “Therefore hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord seated on his throne, with the whole host of heaven standing to his right and to his left. 19 The Lord asked: Who will deceive Ahab, king of Israel, so that he will go up and fall on Ramoth-gilead? And one said this, another that, 20 until this spirit came forth and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked: How? 21 He answered, ‘I will go forth and become a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord replied: You shall succeed in deceiving him. Go forth and do this. 22 So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours; but the Lord himself has decreed evil against you.”
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- 18:12–22 See note on 1 Kgs 22:19–23.
Hebrews 9:23-28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
23 [a]Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified by these rites, but the heavenly things themselves by better sacrifices than these.(A) 24 For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf.(B) 25 Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own; 26 if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages[b] to take away sin by his sacrifice.(C) 27 Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment,(D) 28 so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many,[c] will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.(E)
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- 9:23–28 Since the blood of animals became a cleansing symbol among Old Testament prefigurements, it was necessary that the realities foreshadowed be brought into being by a shedding of blood that was infinitely more effective by reason of its worth (Hb 9:23). Christ did not simply prefigure the heavenly realities (Hb 9:24) by performing an annual sacrifice with a blood not his own (Hb 9:25); he offered the single sacrifice of himself as the final annulment of sin (Hb 9:26). Just as death is the unrepeatable act that ends a person’s life, so Christ’s offering of himself for all is the unrepeatable sacrifice that has once for all achieved redemption (Hb 9:27–28).
- 9:26 At the end of the ages: the use of expressions such as this shows that the author of Hebrews, despite his interest in the Platonic concept of an eternal world above superior to temporal reality here below, nevertheless still clings to the Jewish Christian eschatology with its sequence of “the present age” and “the age to come.”
- 9:28 To take away the sins of many: the reference is to Is 53:12. Since the Greek verb anapherō can mean both “to take away” and “to bear,” the author no doubt intended to play upon both senses: Jesus took away sin by bearing it himself. See the similar wordplay in Jn 1:29. Many is used in the Semitic meaning of “all” in the inclusive sense, as in Mk 14:24. To those who eagerly await him: Jesus will appear a second time at the parousia, as the high priest reappeared on the Day of Atonement, emerging from the Holy of Holies, which he had entered to take away sin. This dramatic scene is described in Sir 50:5–11.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.