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
Psalm 84
New Living Translation
Psalm 84
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.[a]
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
2 I long, yes, I faint with longing
to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
I will shout joyfully to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young
at a place near your altar,
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
4 What joy for those who can live in your house,
always singing your praises. Interlude
5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,[b]
it will become a place of refreshing springs.
The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
7 They will continue to grow stronger,
and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.[c]
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.
Listen, O God of Jacob. Interlude
9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield!
Show favor to the one you have anointed.
10 A single day in your courts
is better than a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God
than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.
He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing
from those who do what is right.
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
what joy for those who trust in you.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
