Psalm 48
New King James Version
The Glory of God in Zion
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the (A)city of our God,
In His holy mountain.
2 (B)Beautiful in [a]elevation,
The joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
3 God is in her palaces;
He is known as her refuge.
4 For behold, (C)the kings assembled,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, and so they marveled;
They were troubled, they hastened away.
6 Fear (D)took hold of them there,
And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
7 As when You break the (E)ships of Tarshish
With an east wind.
8 As we have heard,
So we have seen
In the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God:
God will (F)establish it forever. Selah
9 We have thought, O God, on (G)Your lovingkindness,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 According to (H)Your name, O God,
So is Your praise to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion rejoice,
Let the daughters of Judah be glad,
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion,
And go all around her.
Count her towers;
13 Mark well her bulwarks;
Consider her palaces;
That you may (I)tell it to the generation following.
14 For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
(J)He will be our guide
[b]Even to death.
Footnotes
- Psalm 48:2 height
- Psalm 48:14 So with MT, Syr.; LXX, Vg. 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.