Psalm 48
New American Standard Bible 1995
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.
2 (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.
3 God, in her palaces,
Has made Himself known as a (G)stronghold.
4 For, lo, the (H)kings assembled themselves,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, then they were amazed;
They were (I)terrified, they [a]fled in alarm.
6 [b]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as of (J)a woman in childbirth.
7 With the (K)east wind
You (L)break the (M)ships of Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God;
God will (N)establish her forever. [c]Selah.
9 We have thought on (O)Your lovingkindness, O God,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 As is Your (P)name, O God,
So is Your (Q)praise to the ends of the earth;
Your (R)right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let Mount (S)Zion be glad,
Let the (T)daughters of Judah rejoice
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion and go around her;
Count her (U)towers;
13 Consider her (V)ramparts;
Go through her palaces,
That you may (W)tell it to the next generation.
14 For [d]such is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will (X)guide us [e]until death.
Footnotes
- Psalm 48:5 Lit were hurried away
- Psalm 48:6 Lit Trembling
- Psalm 48:8 Selah may mean: Pause, Crescendo or Musical interlude
- Psalm 48:14 Lit this
- Psalm 48:14 Lit upon; some mss and the Gr read forever
Psalm 48
Expanded Bible
Jerusalem, the City of God
A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
48 The Lord is great; ·he should [L and greatly to] be praised
in the city of our God, on his holy mountain [C Mount Zion, the location of the Temple].
2 It is ·high and beautiful [beautiful in elevation]
·and brings joy to [L the joy of] the whole world [Lam. 2:15].
Mount Zion ·is like the high mountains [L on the sides] of ·the north [or Zaphon; C comparing Yahweh’s mountain with the mountain of Baal];
it is the city of the Great King.
3 God is within its ·palaces [citadels];
he is known as its defender.
4 Kings joined together
and came ·to attack the city [L on together; 2:1].
5 But when they saw it, they were ·amazed [astonished].
They ran away in ·fear [panic].
6 ·Fear [L Trembling] ·took hold of [seized] them;
they ·hurt [were in pain] like a woman ·having a baby [in labor].
7 You ·destroyed [broke up] the ·large trading ships [L ships of Tarshish; C large trading vessels capable of going to distant ports; Tarshish may have been in Spain (Tartessus) or an island in the eastern Mediterranean; Is. 2:16; Jon. 1:3]
with an east wind.
8 First we heard
and now we have seen
that God ·will always keep his city safe [establishes forever].
It is the city of the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts],
the city of our God. ·
9 God, we come into your Temple
to ·think [ponder; meditate] about your ·love [loyalty].
10 God, your name is known everywhere;
·all over the earth people [L the ends of the earth] praise you.
Your right hand is full of ·goodness [righteousness; or victory].
11 Mount Zion is happy
and ·all the towns [L the daughters] of Judah rejoice,
because ·your decisions are fair [or of your judgments].
12 Walk around Jerusalem
and count its towers.
13 ·Notice how strong they are [L Set your heart on its ramparts].
Look at the ·palaces [citadels].
Then you can ·tell [recount it to] ·your children about them [L a later generation].
14 This God is our God forever and ever.
He will guide us from now on.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.