Isaiah 48:2

48:2 Indeed, they live in the holy city; ¹ 

they trust in ²  the God of Israel,

whose name is the Lord who commands armies.

Nehemiah 11:1

The Population of Jerusalem

11:1 So the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, ³  while the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten to settle in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine ⁴  remained in other cities.

Psalms 46:4

46:4 The river’s channels bring joy to the city of God, ⁵ 

the special, holy dwelling place of ⁶  the sovereign One. ⁷ 

Psalms 48:1

Psalm 48 ⁸ 

A song, a psalm by the Korahites.

48:1 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise

in the city of our God, ⁹  his holy hill.

Psalms 48:8

48:8 We heard about God’s mighty deeds, now we have seen them, ¹⁰ 

in the city of the Lord, the invincible Warrior, ¹¹ 

in the city of our God.

God makes it permanently secure. ¹²  (Selah)

Hosea 11:12

God’s Lawsuit against Israel: Breach of Covenant

11:12 (12:1) ¹³  Ephraim has surrounded me with lies;

the house of Israel has surrounded me ¹⁴  with deceit.

But Judah still roams about with ¹⁵  God;

he remains faithful to the Holy One.

Zechariah 8:3

8:3 The Lord says, ‘I have returned to Zion and will live within Jerusalem. ¹⁶  Now Jerusalem will be called “truthful city,” “mountain of the Lord who rules over all,” “holy mountain.”’

Hebrews 12:22

12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion, the city ¹⁷  of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly

[48:2]  ¹ tn Heb “they call themselves [or “are called”] from the holy city.” The precise meaning of the statement is uncertain. The Niphal of קָרָא (qara’) is combined with the preposition מִן (min) only here. When the Qal of קָרָא is used with מִן, the preposition often indicates the place from which one is summoned (see 46:11). So one could translate, “from the holy city they are summoned,” meaning that they reside there.

[48:2]  ² tn Heb “lean on” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “rely on.”

[11:1]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “nine of the hands.” The word “hand” is used here in the sense or a part or portion.

[46:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “A river, its channels cause the city of God to be glad.”

[46:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the holy [place] of the dwelling places of.” The adjective “holy” is used here in a substantival manner and placed in construct with the following noun (see GKC 428 §132.c). Origen’s transliterated text assumes the reading קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh, “holiness; holy place”), while the LXX assumes a Piel verbal form קִדֵּשׁ (qidesh, “makes holy”) and takes the following form as “his dwelling place.” The plural form מִשְׁכְּנֵי (mishkÿney, “dwelling places of”) is probably a plural of degree, emphasizing the special character of this dwelling place. See GKC 397 §124.b. The form stands as an appositional genitive in relation to the preceding construct noun.

[46:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.

[48:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 48. This so-called “Song of Zion” celebrates the greatness and glory of the Lord’s dwelling place, Jerusalem. His presence in the city elevates it above all others and assures its security.

[48:1]  ⁹ sn The city of our God is Jerusalem, which is also referred to here as “his holy hill,” that is, Zion (see v. 2, as well as Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 43:3; 87:1; Dan 9:16).

[48:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “As we have heard, so we have seen.” The community had heard about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history. Having personally witnessed his saving power with their own eyes, they could now affirm that the tradition was not exaggerated or inaccurate.

[48:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord of hosts.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Pss 24:10; 46:7, 11).

[48:8]  ¹² tn Or “God makes it secure forever.” The imperfect highlights the characteristic nature of the generalizing statement.

[11:12]  ¹³ sn Beginning with 11:12, the verse numbers through 12:14 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 11:12 ET = 12:1 HT, 12:1 ET = 12:2 HT, etc., through 12:14 ET = 12:15 HT. From 13:1 to 13:16 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[11:12]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase “has surrounded me” is not repeated in the Hebrew text here, but is implied by the parallelism in the preceding line. It is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons, smoothness, and readability.

[11:12]  ¹⁵ tn The verb רוּד (rud, “to roam about freely”) is used in a concrete sense to refer to someone wandering restlessly and roaming back and forth (BDB 923 s.v. רוּד; Judg 11:37). Here, it is used figuratively, possibly with positive connotations, as indicated by the preposition עִם (’im, “with”), to indicate accompaniment: “but Judah still goes about with God” (HALOT 1194 s.v. רוד). Some English versions render it positively: “Judah still walks with God” (RSV, NRSV); “Judah is restive under God” (REB); “but Judah stands firm with God” (NJPS); “but Judah yet ruleth with God” (KJV, ASV). Other English versions adopt the negative connotation “to wander restlessly” and nuance עִם in an adversative sense (“against”): “Judah is still rebellious against God” (NAB), “Judah is unruly against God” (NIV), and “the people of Judah are still rebelling against me” (TEV).

[8:3]  ¹⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[12:22]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and the city”; the conjunction is omitted in translation since it seems to be functioning epexegetically – that is, explaining further what is meant by “Mount Zion.”