Psalm 84
Evangelical Heritage Version
Psalm 84
How Loved Is Your Dwelling Place
Heading
For the choir director. According to gittith.[a] By the Sons of Korah.[b]
A psalm.
How Loved Is Your Dwelling Place
1 How I love your dwelling place, O Lord of Armies.
2 My soul grows weak and even wastes away,
as I long for the courtyards of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow has found a nest for herself,
where she may place her young near your altars,
O Lord of Armies, my King and my God.
The Blessings of Being There
4 How blessed are those who live in your house. Interlude
They are always praising you.
5 How blessed is everyone whose strength is found in you.
The highways to Jerusalem[c] are in their hearts.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,[d]
it becomes full of springs.[e]
The autumn rain also covers it with pools.[f]
7 They go from strength to strength.
Each one will appear before God in Zion.
Prayer
8 O Lord, God of Armies, hear my prayer. Interlude
Give ear, O God of Jacob.
9 Look upon our Shield, O God.
Look with favor on the face of your Anointed One.[g]
The Blessings of Being There
10 Yes, one day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather wait at the doorway of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord is a sun and shield.
God gives grace and glory.
The Lord does not withhold any good thing
from those who walk with integrity.
12 O Lord of Armies, how blessed is everyone who trusts in you.
Footnotes
- Psalm 84:1 Gittith means in the style of Gath or perhaps it is a tune, “Winepress.”
- Psalm 84:1 The Sons of Korah were a group of Levitical musicians, who apparently were descendants of the Korah who rebelled against Moses. In this section of Psalms, Psalms 84, 85, 87, and 88 were written by them.
- Psalm 84:5 The words to Jerusalem are added for clarity.
- Psalm 84:6 In Hebrew Valley of Baca sounds like Valley of Weeping.
- Psalm 84:6 The main Hebrew reading is they make it a place of springs. The words they make it function as an impersonal passive equal to It is made a place of springs. Some manuscripts read He [God] makes it a place of springs.
- Psalm 84:6 The translation pools follows an alternate reading of the Hebrew. The main Hebrew reading is blessings. Pools and blessings are a pun in Hebrew. The autumn rain is also called the early rain.
- Psalm 84:9 Shield and Anointed One are references to Israel’s king.
Psalm 84
English Standard Version
My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord
To the choirmaster: according to (A)The Gittith.[a] A Psalm of (B)the Sons of Korah.
84 How (C)lovely is your (D)dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul (E)longs, yes, (F)faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to (G)the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
(H)my King and my God.
4 (I)Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever (J)singing your praise! Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
(K)in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[b]
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
(L)the early rain also covers it with (M)pools.
7 They go (N)from strength to strength;
each one (O)appears before God in Zion.
8 O (P)Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 (Q)Behold our (R)shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!
10 For a day (S)in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be (T)a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is (U)a sun and (V)shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
(W)No good thing does he withhold
from those who (X)walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
(Y)blessed is the one who trusts in you!
Footnotes
- Psalm 84:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 84:5 Hebrew lacks to Zion
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
