Psalms 26:8

26:8 O Lord, I love the temple where you live, ¹ 

the place where your splendor is revealed. ² 

Psalms 27:4

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.

Psalms 84:1

Psalm 84 ⁶ 

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 

Psalms 84:10

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.

Psalms 122:1-9

Psalm 122 ¹⁴ 

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 

[26:8]  ¹ tn Heb “the dwelling of your house.”

[26:8]  ² tn Heb “the place of the abode of your splendor.”

[27:4]  ³ tn Heb “my living.”

[27:4]  ⁴ sn The Lord’s house. This probably refers to the tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).

[27:4]  ⁵ tn Or “beauty.”

[84:1]  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.

[84:1]  ⁷ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument.

[84:1]  ⁸ 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).

[84:1]  ⁹ tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.” The title draws attention to God’s sovereign position (see Ps 69:6).

[84:10]  ¹⁰ tn Or “for.”

[84:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”

[84:10]  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).

[84:10]  ¹³ tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.

[122:1]  ¹⁴ sn Psalm 122. The psalmist expresses his love for Jerusalem and promises to pray for the city’s security.

[122:1]  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.

[122:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.

[122:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “were.”

[122:3]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[122:3]  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).

[122:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “went up.”

[122:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “which is where the tribes go up.”

[122:4]  ²² tn Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord.”

[122:5]  ²³ tn Or “for.”

[122:5]  ²⁴ tn Or “sat.”

[122:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.”

[122:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “ask [for].”

[122:6]  ²⁷ tn Or “be secure.”

[122:7]  ²⁸ tn or “security.”

[122:7]  ²⁹ tn The psalmist uses second feminine singular pronominal forms to address personified Jerusalem.

[122:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “I will seek good for you.” The psalmist will seek Jerusalem’s “good” through prayer.