26:8 O Lord, I love the temple where you live, 1
the place where your splendor is revealed. 2
27:4 I have asked the Lord for one thing –
this is what I desire!
I want to live 3 in the Lord’s house 4 all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor 5 of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple.
For the music director; according to the gittith style; 7 written by the Korahites, a psalm.
84:1 How lovely is the place where you live, 8
O Lord who rules over all! 9
84:10 Certainly 10 spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere. 11
I would rather stand at the entrance 12 to the temple of my God
than live 13 in the tents of the wicked.
A song of ascents, 15 by David.
122:1 I was glad because 16 they said to me,
“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”
122:2 Our feet are 17 standing
inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
122:3 Jerusalem 18 is a city designed
to accommodate an assembly. 19
122:4 The tribes go up 20 there, 21
the tribes of the Lord,
where it is required that Israel
give thanks to the name of the Lord. 22
122:5 Indeed, 23 the leaders sit 24 there on thrones and make legal decisions,
on the thrones of the house of David. 25
122:6 Pray 26 for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love her prosper! 27
122:7 May there be peace inside your defenses,
and prosperity 28 inside your fortresses! 29
122:8 For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors
I will say, “May there be peace in you!”
122:9 For the sake of the temple of the Lord our God
I will pray for you to prosper. 30
1 tn Heb “the dwelling of your house.”
2 tn Heb “the place of the abode of your splendor.”
3 tn Heb “my living.”
4 sn The
5 tn Or “beauty.”
6 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.
7 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument.
8 tn Or “your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the
9 tn Traditionally, “
10 tn Or “for.”
11 tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”
12 tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).
13 tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.
14 sn Psalm 122. The psalmist expresses his love for Jerusalem and promises to pray for the city’s security.
15 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
16 tn Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.
17 tn Or “were.”
18 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
19 tc Heb “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which is joined to her together.” The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Many regard this as a description of the compact way in which the city was designed or constructed. The translation assumes an emendation of the verb חֻבְּרָה (khubbÿrah, “is joined”) to a noun חֶבְרָה (khevrah, “association; company”). The text then reads literally, “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which has a company together.” This in turn can be taken as a reference to Jerusalem’s role as a city where people congregated for religious festivals and other civic occasions (see vv. 4-5).
20 tn Or “went up.”
21 tn Heb “which is where the tribes go up.”
22 tn Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the
23 tn Or “for.”
24 tn Or “sat.”
25 tn Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.”
26 tn Heb “ask [for].”
27 tn Or “be secure.”
28 tn or “security.”
29 tn The psalmist uses second feminine singular pronominal forms to address personified Jerusalem.
30 tn Heb “I will seek good for you.” The psalmist will seek Jerusalem’s “good” through prayer.