Psalms 2:6

2:6 “I myself ¹  have installed ²  my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

Psalms 3:4

3:4 To the Lord I cried out, ³ 

and he answered me from his holy hill. ⁴  (Selah)

Psalms 68:15-16

68:15 The mountain of Bashan ⁵  is a towering mountain; ⁶ 

the mountain of Bashan is a mountain with many peaks. ⁷ 

68:16 Why do you look with envy, ⁸  O mountains ⁹  with many peaks,

at the mountain where God has decided to live? ¹⁰ 

Indeed ¹¹  the Lord will live there ¹²  permanently!

Psalms 78:68

78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah,

and Mount Zion, which he loves.

Psalms 132:13-14

132:13 Certainly ¹³  the Lord has chosen Zion;

he decided to make it his home. ¹⁴ 

132:14 He said, ¹⁵  “This will be my resting place forever;

I will live here, for I have chosen it. ¹⁶ 

[2:6]  ¹ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

[2:6]  ² tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

[3:4]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal form could be an imperfect, yielding the translation “I cry out,” but the verb form in the next line (a vav [ו] consecutive with the preterite) suggests this is a brief narrative of what has already happened. Consequently the verb form in v. 4a is better understood as a preterite, “I cried out.” (For another example of the preterite of this same verb form, see Ps 30:8.) Sometime after the crisis arose, the psalmist prayed to the Lord and received an assuring answer. Now he confidently awaits the fulfillment of the divine promise.

[3:4]  ⁴ sn His holy hill. That is, Zion (see Pss 2:6; 48:1-2). The psalmist recognizes that the Lord dwells in his sanctuary on Mount Zion.

[68:15]  ⁵ sn The mountain of Bashan probably refers to Mount Hermon.

[68:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “a mountain of God.” The divine name is probably used here in a superlative sense to depict a very high mountain (“a mountain fit for God,” as it were). Cf. NIV “are majestic mountains”; NRSV “O mighty mountain.”

[68:15]  ⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term, which appears only here in the OT, is uncertain. HALOT 174 s.v. גַּבְנוֹן suggests “many-peaked,” while BDB 148 s.v. גַּבְנִן suggests “rounded summit.”

[68:16]  ⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb רָצַד (ratsad), translated here “look with envy,” is uncertain; it occurs only here in the OT. See BDB 952-53. A cognate verb occurs in later Aramaic with the meaning “to lie in wait; to watch” (Jastrow 1492 s.v. רְצַד).

[68:16]  ⁹ tn Perhaps the apparent plural form should be read as a singular with enclitic mem (ם; later misinterpreted as a plural ending). The preceding verse has the singular form.

[68:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[at] the mountain God desires for his dwelling place.” The reference is to Mount Zion/Jerusalem.

[68:16]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew particle אַף (’af) has an emphasizing function here.

[68:16]  ¹² tn The word “there” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[132:13]  ¹³ tn Or “for.”

[132:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he desired it for his dwelling place.”

[132:14]  ¹⁵ tn The words “he said” are added in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

[132:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for I desired it.”