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The City of Our God

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

48 (A)Great is Yahweh, 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.
God, in her palaces,
Has made Himself known as a (G)stronghold.

For, behold, the (H)kings assembled themselves,
They passed by together.
They saw it, then they were astonished;
They were (I)dismayed, they [a]fled in alarm.
[b]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as of (J)a woman in childbirth.
With the (K)east wind
You (L)break the (M)ships of Tarshish.
As we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of Yahweh of hosts, in the city of our God;
God will (N)establish her forever. [c]Selah.

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)recount it to the next generation.
14 For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will (X)guide us [d]over death.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 48:5 Lit were hurried away
  2. Psalm 48:6 Lit Trembling
  3. Psalm 48:8 Selah may mean Pause, Crescendo, Musical Interlude
  4. Psalm 48:14 Lit upon; some mss and Gr forever

Psalm 48

Zion Exalted

A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

The Lord is great and highly praised
in the city of our God.(A)
His holy mountain, rising splendidly,
is the joy of the whole earth.
Mount Zion—the summit of Zaphon—
is the city of the great King.(B)
God is known as a stronghold
in its citadels.(C)

Look! The kings assembled;
they advanced together.(D)
They looked and froze with fear;
they fled in terror.(E)
Trembling seized them there,
agony like that of a woman in labor,(F)
as you wrecked the ships of Tarshish
with the east wind.(G)

Just as we heard, so we have seen
in the city of the Lord of Armies,
in the city of our God;
God will establish it forever.(H)Selah

God, within your temple,
we contemplate your faithful love.(I)
10 Like your name, God, so your praise
reaches to the ends of the earth;(J)
your right hand is filled with justice.(K)
11 Mount Zion is glad.
Judah’s villages[a] rejoice
because of your judgments.(L)

12 Go around Zion, encircle it;
count its towers,
13 note its ramparts; tour its citadels
so that you can tell a future generation:(M)
14 “This God, our God forever and ever—
he will always lead us.”[b](N)

Footnotes

  1. 48:11 Lit daughters
  2. 48:14 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read over death