Psalms 87:3-6

87:3 People say wonderful things about you, ¹ 

O city of God. (Selah)

87:4 I mention Rahab ²  and Babylon to my followers. ³ 

Here are ⁴  Philistia and Tyre, ⁵  along with Ethiopia. ⁶ 

It is said of them, “This one was born there.” ⁷ 

87:5 But it is said of Zion’s residents, ⁸ 

“Each one of these ⁹  was born in her,

and the sovereign One ¹⁰  makes her secure.” ¹¹ 

87:6 The Lord writes in the census book of the nations, ¹² 

“This one was born there.” ¹³  (Selah)

[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.”

[87:4]  ² sn “Rahab,” which means “proud one,” is used here as a title for Egypt (see Isa 30:7).

[87:4]  ³ tn Heb “to those who know me” (see Ps 36:10). Apparently the Lord speaks here. The verbal construction (the Hiphil of זָכַר, zakhar, “remember” followed by the preposition -לְ [le] with a substantive) is rare, but the prepositional phrase is best understood as indicating the recipient of the announcement (see Jer 4:16). Some take the preposition in the sense of “among” and translate, “among those who know me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). In this case these foreigners are viewed as the Lord’s people and the psalm is interpreted as anticipating a time when all nations will worship the Lord (see Ps 86:9) and be considered citizens of Zion.

[87:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “Look.”

[87:4]  ⁵ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[87:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “Cush.”

[87:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and this one was born there.” The words “It is said of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification and stylistic purposes (see v. 5). Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand “there” as referring to Zion, but it seems more likely that the adverb refers to the nations just mentioned. The foreigners are identified by their native lands.

[87:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “and of Zion it is said.” Another option is to translate, “and to Zion it is said.” In collocation with the Niphal of אָמַר (’amar), the preposition lamed (-לְ) can introduce the recipient of the statement (see Josh 2:2; Jer 4:11; Hos 1:10; Zeph 3:16), carry the nuance “concerning, of” (see Num 23:23), or mean “be named” (see Isa 4:3; 62:4).

[87:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “a man and a man.” The idiom also appears in Esth 1:8. The translation assumes that the phrase refers to each of Zion’s residents, in contrast to the foreigners mentioned in v. 4. Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand this as a reference to each of the nations, including those mentioned in v. 4.

[87:5]  ¹⁰ tn Traditionally “Most High.”

[87:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he makes her secure, the Most High.”

[87:6]  ¹² tn Heb “the Lord records in the writing of the nations.”

[87:6]  ¹³ tn As noted in v. 4, the translation assumes a contrast between “there” (the various foreign lands) and “in her” (Zion). In contrast to foreigners, the citizens of Zion have special status because of their birthplace (v. 5). In this case vv. 4 and 6 form a structural frame around v. 5.