Salmi 84
Conferenza Episcopale Italiana
Canto di pellegrinaggio
84 Al maestro del coro. Su «I torchi...».
Dei figli di Core. Salmo.
2 Quanto sono amabili le tue dimore,
Signore degli eserciti!
3 L'anima mia languisce
e brama gli atri del Signore.
Il mio cuore e la mia carne
esultano nel Dio vivente.
4 Anche il passero trova la casa,
la rondine il nido,
dove porre i suoi piccoli,
presso i tuoi altari,
Signore degli eserciti, mio re e mio Dio.
5 Beato chi abita la tua casa:
sempre canta le tue lodi!
6 Beato chi trova in te la sua forza
e decide nel suo cuore il santo viaggio.
7 Passando per la valle del pianto
la cambia in una sorgente,
anche la prima pioggia
l'ammanta di benedizioni.
8 Cresce lungo il cammino il suo vigore,
finché compare davanti a Dio in Sion.
9 Signore, Dio degli eserciti, ascolta la mia preghiera,
porgi l'orecchio, Dio di Giacobbe.
10 Vedi, Dio, nostro scudo,
guarda il volto del tuo consacrato.
11 Per me un giorno nei tuoi atri
è più che mille altrove,
stare sulla soglia della casa del mio Dio
è meglio che abitare nelle tende degli empi.
12 Poiché sole e scudo è il Signore Dio;
il Signore concede grazia e gloria,
non rifiuta il bene
a chi cammina con rettitudine.
13 Signore degli eserciti,
beato l'uomo che in te confida.
Salmi 84
La Nuova Diodati
84 «Al maestro del coro. Sulla Ghittea. Salmo dei figli di kore.» Oh, quanto amabili sono le tue dimore, o Eterno degli eserciti!
2 L'anima mia anela e si strugge per i cortili dell'Eterno; il mio cuore e la mia carne mandano grida di gioia al DIO vivente.
3 Anche il passero trova una casa e la rondine un nido, dove posare i suoi piccoli presso i tuoi altari, o Eterno degli eserciti, mio Re e mio DIO.
4 Beati coloro che abitano nella tua casa e ti lodano del continuo. (Sela)
5 Beati quelli che ripongono la loro forza in te e che hanno in cuore le tue vie!
6 Quando attraversano la valle di Baka, la trasformano in luogo di sorgenti, e la prima pioggia la ricopre di benedizioni.
7 Essi vanno di valore in valore, e infine compaiono davanti a DIO in Sion.
8 O Eterno, DIO degli eserciti, ascolta la mia preghiera; tendi l'orecchio, o DIO di Giacobbe. (Sela)
9 Vedi, o DIO, nostro scudo, e riguarda la faccia del tuo unto.
10 Sí, un giorno nei tuoi cortili val piú che mille altrove; io preferisco stare sulla soglia della casa del mio DIO, che abitare nelle tende degli empi.
11 Perché l'Eterno DIO è sole e scudo; l'Eterno darà grazia e gloria; egli non rifiuterà alcun bene a quelli che camminano rettamente.
12 O Eterno degli eserciti, beato l'uomo che confida in te.
Psalm 84
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 84[a]
Longing for God’s Dwelling
1 For the director.[b] “Upon the gittith.” A psalm of the sons of Korah.
2 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts.[c]
3 My soul yearns and is filled with longing
for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
4 Just as the sparrow searches for a home
and the swallow builds a nest for herself
where she may place her young,
so do I seek your altars,[d]
O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
5 Blessed[e] are those who dwell in your house;
they offer continuous praise to you. Selah
6 Blessed are those who find strength in you,
who set their hearts upon your ways.[f]
7 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they turn it into a region of springs,
and the early rain covers it with pools.[g]
8 [h]They move forward with increasing strength
as they behold the God of gods in Zion.
9 O Lord of hosts, hear my prayer;
listen to my pleas, O God of Jacob. Selah
10 O God, look upon our shield[i]
behold the face of your anointed one.
11 It is better to spend one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper[j] in God’s house
than dwell inside the tents of the wicked.
12 The Lord God serves as our sun[k] and our shield;
the Lord showers us with grace and glory.
He does not withhold any good thing
from those who walk in integrity.
13 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the man who puts his trust in you.
Footnotes
- Psalm 84:1 During one of the pilgrimages prescribed by the Mosaic Law (see Ex 23:17; 1 Sam 1:3; Lk 2:42), perhaps the one for the harvest, a pilgrim expresses his joy at finding himself near God in the temple. At the last stage, the Lord has already manifested his favor to the faithful pilgrims (vv. 6-7). He reserves even more happiness for those who follow his law. Another opinion holds that this psalm recalls Ps 42 and reflects its circumstances. The psalmist is a Levite who has no access to God’s house, possibly at the time when Sennacherib was overrunning Judah (see 2 Ki 18:13-16), and expresses his longing for the closeness in the temple that he experienced in the past.
This pilgrim song, overflowing with the desire for and joy of God, becomes the song of hope and confidence for all Christians en route to the house of the Father where they will sing an Alleluia (or Hallelujah) without end. It also translates the sentiments of all who love Christ’s Eucharistic Presence in the tabernacle. - Psalm 84:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation. “Upon the gittith”: see note on Ps 8:1. Sons of Korah: see note on Ps 42:1.
- Psalm 84:2 Lord of hosts: see note on Ps 24:10. Soul: see note on Ps 6:4. Heart . . . flesh: i.e., entire being (see Ps 73:26).
- Psalm 84:4 God sees to it that even the “birds of the air have nests” (Mt 8:20); hence, he will welcome his faithful to the shelter of his altars.
- Psalm 84:5 Blessed: see note on Ps 1:1.
- Psalm 84:6 Who set their hearts upon your ways: literally, “in whose hearts are the open roads.”
- Psalm 84:7 Through God’s care, even the most fearsome path becomes a path of blessings and praise (see 2 Chr 20:26). Valley of Baca: valley of “weeping” or “balsam trees”; in the Vulgate, it is called “the Valley of Tears,” which gave rise, in the ascetical and preaching tradition, to the familiar expression, “vale of tears,” for our earthly pilgrimage. Pools: or “blessings.”
- Psalm 84:8 Zion: see note on Ps 9:12. Lord of hosts: see note on Ps 24:10. Jacob: i.e., Israel (see Gen 32:28-29).
- Psalm 84:10 Our shield: the king (see Ps 89:19). Anointed one: either the king (who was God’s earthly regent over his people) or the high priest (who led the community of Israel after the disappearance of the royalty).
- Psalm 84:11 Doorkeeper: some of the sons of Korah (see v. 1) were doorkeepers or gatekeepers in the temple (see 1 Chr 26:1).
- Psalm 84:12 There is no joy that can outweigh and replace supernatural joys that have their source in God alone, for he denies no grace to his faithful ones. Sun: see note on Ps 27:1 on God as “light.”
Copyright © 1991 by La Buona Novella s.c.r.l.
