Psalms 48:9-14

48:9 We reflect on your loyal love, O God,

within your temple.

48:10 The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth

is worthy of your reputation, O God. ¹ 

You execute justice! ² 

48:11 Mount Zion rejoices;

the towns ³  of Judah are happy, ⁴ 

because of your acts of judgment. ⁵ 

48:12 Walk around ⁶  Zion! Encircle it!

Count its towers!

48:13 Consider its defenses! ⁷ 

Walk through ⁸  its fortresses,

so you can tell the next generation about it! ⁹ 

48:14 For God, our God, is our defender forever! ¹⁰ 

He guides ¹¹  us! ¹² 

[48:10]  ¹ tn Heb “like your name, O God, so [is] your praise to the ends of the earth.” Here “name” refers to God’s reputation and revealed character.

[48:10]  ² tn Heb “your right hand is full of justice.” The “right hand” suggests activity and power.

[48:11]  ³ tn Heb “daughters.” The reference is to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 97:8 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).

[48:11]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as generalizing imperfects. (For other examples of an imperfect followed by causal לְמַעַן [lÿma’an], see Ps 23:3; Isa 49:7; 55:5.) Another option is to interpret the forms as jussives, “Let Mount Zion rejoice! Let the towns of Judah be happy!” (cf. NASB, NRSV; note the imperatives in vv. 12-13.)

[48:11]  ⁵ sn These acts of judgment are described in vv. 4-7.

[48:12]  ⁶ tn The verb forms in vv. 12-13 are plural; the entire Judahite community is addressed.

[48:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “set your heart to its rampart.”

[48:13]  ⁸ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word translated “walk through,” which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Cf. NEB “pass…in review”; NIV “view.”

[48:13]  ⁹ sn The city’s towers, defenses, and fortresses are outward reminders and tangible symbols of the divine protection the city enjoys.

[48:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for this is God, our God, forever and ever.” “This” might be paraphrased, “this protector described and praised in the preceding verses.”

[48:14]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect highlights the characteristic nature of the generalizing statement.

[48:14]  ¹² tn In the Hebrew text the psalm ends with the words עַל־מוּת (’al-mut, “upon [unto?] dying”), which make little, if any, sense. M. Dahood (Psalms [AB], 1:293) proposes an otherwise unattested plural form עֹלָמוֹת (’olamot; from עוֹלָם, ’olam, “eternity”). This would provide a nice parallel to עוֹלָם וָעֶד (’olam va’ed, “forever”) in the preceding line, but elsewhere the plural of עוֹלָם appears as עֹלָמִים (’olamim). It is preferable to understand the phrase as a musical direction of some sort (see עַל־מוּת [’al-mut] in the superscription of Ps 9) or to emend the text to עַל־עֲלָמוֹת (’al-’alamot, “according to the alamoth style”; see the heading of Ps 46). In either case it should be understood as belonging with the superscription of the following psalm.