Psalms 87:3

87:3 People say wonderful things about you, ¹ 

O city of God. (Selah)

Psalms 87:1

Psalm 87 ² 

Written by the Korahites; a psalm, a song.

87:1 The Lord’s city is in the holy hills. ³ 

Psalms 3:1

Psalm 3 ⁴ 

A psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom. ⁵ 

3:1 Lord, how ⁶  numerous are my enemies!

Many attack me. ⁷ 

Psalms 3:1

Psalm 3 ⁸ 

A psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom. ⁹ 

3:1 Lord, how ¹⁰  numerous are my enemies!

Many attack me. ¹¹ 

Revelation 3:12

3:12 The one who conquers ¹²  I will make ¹³  a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never depart from it. I ¹⁴  will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God), ¹⁵  and my new name as well.

[87:3]  ¹ tn Heb “glorious things are spoken about you.” The translation assumes this is a general reference to compliments paid to Zion by those who live within her walls and by those who live in the surrounding areas and lands. Another option is that this refers to a prophetic oracle about the city’s glorious future. In this case one could translate, “wonderful things are announced concerning you.”

[87:1]  ² sn Psalm 87. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s presence in Zion and the special status of its citizens.

[87:1]  ³ tn Heb “his foundation [is] in the hills of holiness.” The expression “his foundation” refers here by metonymy to the Lord’s dwelling place in Zion. The “hills” are the ones surrounding Zion (see Pss 125:2; 133:3).

[3:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 3. The psalmist acknowledges that he is confronted by many enemies (vv. 1-2). But, alluding to a divine oracle he has received (vv. 4-5), he affirms his confidence in God’s ability to protect him (vv. 3, 6) and requests that God make his promise a reality (vv. 7-8).

[3:1]  ⁵ sn According to Jewish tradition, David offered this prayer when he was forced to flee from Jerusalem during his son Absalom’s attempted coup (see 2 Sam 15:13-17).

[3:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term מָה (mah, “how”) is used here as an adverbial exclamation (see BDB 553 s.v.).

[3:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “many rise up against me.”

[3:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 3. The psalmist acknowledges that he is confronted by many enemies (vv. 1-2). But, alluding to a divine oracle he has received (vv. 4-5), he affirms his confidence in God’s ability to protect him (vv. 3, 6) and requests that God make his promise a reality (vv. 7-8).

[3:1]  ⁹ sn According to Jewish tradition, David offered this prayer when he was forced to flee from Jerusalem during his son Absalom’s attempted coup (see 2 Sam 15:13-17).

[3:1]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term מָה (mah, “how”) is used here as an adverbial exclamation (see BDB 553 s.v.).

[3:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “many rise up against me.”

[3:12]  ¹² tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”

[3:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “I will make him,” but the pronoun (αὐτόν, auton, “him”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[3:12]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[3:12]  ¹⁵ sn This description of the city of my God is parenthetical, explaining further the previous phrase and interrupting the list of “new names” given here.