Psalms 27:4

Context

27:4 I have asked the Lord for one thing –

this is what I desire!

I want to live¹ in the Lord’s house² all the days of my life,

so I can gaze at the splendor³ of the Lord

and contemplate in his temple.

Psalms 63:2

Context

63:2 Yes,⁴ in the sanctuary I have seen you,⁵

and witnessed⁶ your power and splendor.

Psalms 68:25

Context

68:25 Singers walk in front;

musicians follow playing their stringed instruments,⁷

in the midst of young women playing tambourines.⁸

Psalms 73:17

Context

73:17 Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple,⁹

and understood the destiny of the wicked.¹⁰

[27:4] ¹tn Heb “my living.”

[27:4] ²sn 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] ³tn Or “beauty.”

[63:2] ⁴tn The Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used here to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4).

[63:2] ⁵tn The perfect verbal form is understood here as referring to a past experience which the psalmist desires to be repeated. Another option is to take the perfect as indicating the psalmist’s certitude that he will again stand in God’s presence in the sanctuary. In this case one can translate, “I will see you.”

[63:2] ⁶tn Heb “seeing.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.

[68:25] ⁷tn Heb “after [are] the stringed instrument players.”

[68:25] ⁸sn To celebrate a military victory, women would play tambourines (see Exod 15:20; Judg 11:34; 1 Sam 18:6).

[73:17] ⁹tn The plural of the term מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) probably refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51).

[73:17] ¹⁰tn Heb “I discerned their end.” At the temple the psalmist perhaps received an oracle of deliverance announcing his vindication and the demise of the wicked (see Ps 12) or heard songs of confidence (for example, Ps 11), wisdom psalms (for example, Pss 1, 37), and hymns (for example, Ps 112) that describe the eventual downfall of the proud and wealthy.