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!
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.

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.
(I)Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever (J)singing your praise! Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    (K)in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[b]
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.
They go (N)from strength to strength;
    each one (O)appears before God in Zion.

O (P)Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
    give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
(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

  1. Psalm 84:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 84:5 Hebrew lacks to Zion

The Joy of Worshiping in the Temple

For the music director; on the Gittith.

Of the sons of Korah. A psalm.[a]

84 How lovely are your dwelling places,
O Yahweh of hosts!
My soul longs and even fails
for the courtyards of Yahweh.
My heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
Even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
near your altars, O Yahweh of hosts,
my king and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;[b]
they can ever praise you. Selah
Blessed is the man whose strength is in you;
in their heart are the highways to Zion.
Passing through the Valley of Baca,[c]
they make it a spring.
The early rain covers it with blessings[d] as well.
They go from strength to strength,
until each appears before God in Zion.[e]
O Yahweh, God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah
Look at our shield, O God,
and have regard for the face of your anointed one.
10 Because better is a day in your courtyards
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be at the threshold of the house[f] of my God
than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 Because Yahweh God is a sun and a shield;
Yahweh gives grace and honor.
He does not withhold good from those who walk blamelessly.
12 O Yahweh of hosts,
blessed is the man who trusts you.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 84:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
  2. Psalm 84:4 Or “temple”
  3. Psalm 84:6 Or “Valley of Weeping”
  4. Psalm 84:6 A change in vocalization of the Hebrew yields “it with pools”
  5. Psalm 84:7 Or “the God of gods will be seen in Zion”
  6. Psalm 84:10 Or “temple”