The Beauty and Glory of Zion.

A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

48 (A)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the (B)city of our God, His (C)holy mountain.
(D)Beautiful in elevation, (E)the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The (F)city of the great King.
In its palaces,
God has made Himself known as a (G)stronghold.

For, behold, the (H)kings arrived,
They passed by together.
They saw it, then they were amazed;
They were (I)terrified, they fled in a hurry.
[a]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as that of (J)a woman in childbirth.
With the (K)east wind
You (L)smash the (M)ships of Tarshish.
Just as we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of the Lord of armies, in the city of our God;
God will (N)establish her forever. Selah

We have thought over (O)Your goodness, God,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 As is Your (P)name, God,
So is Your (Q)praise to the ends of the earth;
Your (R)right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Mount (S)Zion shall be glad,
The (T)daughters of Judah shall rejoice
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk around Zion and encircle her;
Count her (U)towers;
13 Consider her (V)ramparts;
Go through her palaces,
So that you may (W)tell of her to the next generation.
14 For [b]such is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will (X)lead us [c]until death.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 48:6 Lit Trembling
  2. Psalm 48:14 Lit this
  3. Psalm 48:14 Lit upon; some mss and LXX forever

Psalm 48

A song. A psalm of the Korahites.

48 In the city belonging to our God,
    the Lord is great and so worthy of praise!
His holy mountain is a beautiful summit,
    the joy of the whole world.
    Mount Zion, in the far north,
    is the city of the great king.
God is in its fortifications,
    revealing himself as a place of safety.

Look: the kings assembled themselves,
    advancing all together—
    when they saw it, they were stunned;
    they panicked and ran away frightened.
Trembling took hold of them right there—
    like a woman giving birth,
    or like the east wind when it smashes
    the ships of Tarshish.
Just like we had heard,
    now we’ve seen it for ourselves
    in the city of the Lord of heavenly forces,
    in the city of our God.
        May God make it secure forever! Selah

We dwell on your faithful love, God,
    in your temple.
10 Your praise, God, just like your reputation,
    extends to the far corners of the earth.
        Your strong hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion be glad;
    let the towns of Judah rejoice
        because of your acts of justice!

12 Walk around Zion;
    go all the way around it;
    count its towers.
13 Examine its defenses closely;
    tour its fortifications
    so that you may tell future generations:
14 “This is God,
    our God, forever and always!
    He is the one who will lead us
    even to the very end.”[a]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 48:14 LXX; Heb uncertain; Heb al muth (unto death or against death), but see the notes at Pss 9–10, 46—the words might belong in the heading of Ps 49.