The Beauty and Glory of Zion.

A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

48 (A)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the (B)city of our God, His (C)holy mountain.
(D)Beautiful in elevation, (E)the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The (F)city of the great King.
In its palaces,
God has made Himself known as a (G)stronghold.

For, behold, the (H)kings arrived,
They passed by together.
They saw it, then they were amazed;
They were (I)terrified, they fled in a hurry.
[a]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as that of (J)a woman in childbirth.
With the (K)east wind
You (L)smash the (M)ships of Tarshish.
Just as we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of the Lord of armies, in the city of our God;
God will (N)establish her forever. Selah

We have thought over (O)Your goodness, God,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 As is Your (P)name, God,
So is Your (Q)praise to the ends of the earth;
Your (R)right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Mount (S)Zion shall be glad,
The (T)daughters of Judah shall rejoice
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk around Zion and encircle her;
Count her (U)towers;
13 Consider her (V)ramparts;
Go through her palaces,
So that you may (W)tell of her to the next generation.
14 For [b]such is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will (X)lead us [c]until death.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 48:6 Lit Trembling
  2. Psalm 48:14 Lit this
  3. Psalm 48:14 Lit upon; some mss and LXX forever

Psalm 48[a]

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

Great is the Lord,(A) and most worthy of praise,(B)
    in the city of our God,(C) his holy mountain.(D)

Beautiful(E) in its loftiness,
    the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon[b](F) is Mount Zion,(G)
    the city of the Great King.(H)
God is in her citadels;(I)
    he has shown himself to be her fortress.(J)

When the kings joined forces,
    when they advanced together,(K)
they saw her and were astounded;
    they fled in terror.(L)
Trembling seized(M) them there,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.(N)
You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish(O)
    shattered by an east wind.(P)

As we have heard,
    so we have seen
in the city of the Lord Almighty,
    in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
    forever.[c](Q)

Within your temple, O God,
    we meditate(R) on your unfailing love.(S)
10 Like your name,(T) O God,
    your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;(U)
    your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Mount Zion rejoices,
    the villages of Judah are glad
    because of your judgments.(V)

12 Walk about Zion, go around her,
    count her towers,(W)
13 consider well her ramparts,(X)
    view her citadels,(Y)
that you may tell of them
    to the next generation.(Z)

14 For this God is our God for ever and ever;
    he will be our guide(AA) even to the end.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 48:1 In Hebrew texts 48:1-14 is numbered 48:2-15.
  2. Psalm 48:2 Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
  3. Psalm 48:8 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.