Text -- Psalms 84:1-4 (NET)

Psalm 84

84:1 For the music director; according to the gittith style; written by the Korahites, a psalm. How lovely is the place where you live, O Lord who rules over all! 84:2 I desperately want to be in the courts of the Lord’s temple. My heart and my entire being shout for joy to the living God. 84:3 Even the birds find a home there, and the swallow builds a nest, where she can protect her young near your altars, O Lord who rules over all, my king and my God. 84:4 How blessed are those who live in your temple and praise you continually! (Selah)

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 84:1

¹ sn Psalm 84. The psalmist expresses his desire to be in God’s presence in the Jerusalem temple, for the Lord is the protector of his people.

² tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument.

³ tn Or “your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 43:3; 46:4; 132:5, 7).

⁴ tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.” The title draws attention to God’s sovereign position (see Ps 69:6).

NET Notes: Psa 84:2

¹ tn Heb “my soul longs, it even pines for.”

² tn Heb “the courts of the Lord” (see Ps 65:4).

³ tn Heb “my flesh,” which stands for his whole person and being.

NET Notes: Psa 84:3

¹ tn The word translated “swallow” occurs only here and in Prov 26:2.

² tn Heb “even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, [in] which she places her young.”

sn The psalmist here romanticizes the temple as a place of refuge and safety. As he thinks of the birds nesting near its roof, he envisions them finding protection in God’s presence.

NET Notes: Psa 84:4

¹ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see v. 12 and Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).