Psalm 48:9-14 – Blessings Of Being In The City Of God

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 27 Aug 2023

Introduction:

v.9 God’s Lovingkindness

v. 10 God’s Reputation for Righteousness

v. 11 God’s Justice

vs. 12-13 Applications: Notice and Share!

v. 14 Statement of Faith In God as Savior


Psalm 48:1-14 Side-by side comparison of versionsA

LXXB
(Ps. 47)

Brenton (Vaticanus)C

Vulgate (Ps. 47)D

KJVE

NAW

Masoretic TxtF

PeshittaG

1 Ψαλμὸς ᾠδῆς τοῖς υἱοῖς Κορε· [δευτέρᾳ σαββάτου].
2 Μέγας κύριος καὶ αἰνετὸςH σφόδρα ἐν πόλει τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν, ὄρει ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ,

1 A Psalm of praise for the sons of Core [on the second day of the weekI]. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, [in] his holy mountain.

1 canticum psalmi filiis Core [secunda sabbati]
2 magnus Dominus et laudabilis nimis in civitate Dei nostri [in] monte sancto eius

1 A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.

1 {A psalm-song by the sons of Korah.} Great is Yahweh; indeed He is very praiseworthy in the city of our God, the mountain of His holiness,

(א)שִׁיר מִזְמוֹרJ לִבְנֵי קֹרַחK. (ב)גָּדוֹל יְהוָה וּמְהֻלָּל מְאֹדL בְּעִיר אֱלֹהֵינוּM Nהַר קָדְשׁוֹ.



2
רב [הוO] מרן ומשׁבח רורבאית בקריתה דאלהן [וב]טורה קדישׁא

3 ε ῥιζῶν ἀγαλλιάμα­τιP πάσης τῆς γῆς. ὄρη Σιων, τὰ πλευρὰQ τοῦ βορρᾶ, ἡ πόλις τοῦ βασιλέως τοῦ μεγάλου,

2 The city of the great King is well planted [on] the mount­ain[sR] of Sion, [with the] joy of the whole earth, [on] the sides of the north.

3 X fundatur exultatione universae terrae monte[s] Sion latera aquilonis civitas regis magni

2 Beautiful [for] situa­tion, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

2 the beautiful height. The joy of all the earth is the North sides of Mount Zion – the walled-city of the great king!

(ג)יְפֵה נוֹףS מְשׂוֹשׂT כָּל הָאָרֶץ הַר צִיּוֹן יַרְכְּתֵי צָפוֹןU קִרְיַתV מֶלֶךְ רָבW.

3 [ו]משׁבחא X חדותא [ב]כלה ארעא טורא דצהיון דבשׁפוליX גרביא קריתה הי דמלכא רבא

4 ὁ θεὸς ἐν ταῖς βάρεσινY αὐτῆς γινώσκεται, ὅταν ἀντι­λαμβάνηται Z[αὐτῆς].

3 God is known in her palaces, when he undertakes to help [her].

4 Deus in domibus eius cognoscitur cum suscipiet [eam]

3 God is known in her palaces for a refuge.

3 Within her compounds, it is God who is known to be a high-fortress.

(ד) אֱלֹהִים בְּאַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ נוֹדַעAA לְמִשְׂגָּבAB.

4 אלהא בסחרתה מודע xעושׁנ[ה]

5 ὅτι ἰδοὺ οἱ βασιλεῖς συνήχ­θησανAC, ἤλθοσαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό·

4 For, behold the kings [of the earthAD] were assembled, they came together.

5 quoniam ecce reges congregati sunt convenerunt in unum 

4 For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.

4 For look, the kings were confederated; they passed by together.

(ה) כִּי הִנֵּה AEהַמְּלָכִים נוֹעֲדוּAF עָבְרוּAG יַחְדָּו.

5 מטל דהא מלכא אתטיבו ועברו איך חדא

6 αὐτοὶ ἰδόντες οὕτως ἐθαύμασαν, ἐταράχ­θησαν, ἐσαλεύ­θησανAH,

5 They saw, and so they wondered: they were troubled, they were moved.

6 ipsi videntes sic admirati sunt conturbati sunt commoti sunt

5 They X saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away.

5 They themselves saw, consequently they were amazed, they panicked, they dashed away.

(ו) הֵמָּה רָאוּ כֵּן תָּמָהוּ נִבְהֲלוּAI AJנֶחְפָּזוּ.

6 הנון
חזו ותמהו וזעו
X

7 τρόμος ἐπελάβετο αὐτῶν, ἐκεῖ ὠδῖνες ὡς τικτούσης.

6 Trembling took hold on them: there were [the] pang[s] as of a woman in travail.

7 tremor adprehendit eos ibi dolores ut parturientis

6 Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

6 Trembling seized them there, cramping like a woman giving birth.

(ז) רְעָדָהAK אֲחָזָתַם שָׁםAL חִיל כַּיּוֹלֵדָהAM.

7 [ו]ארתיתא אחד אנון [ו]חבלא איך דילדתא

8 ἐν πνεύματι βιαίῳ συντρίψεις πλοῖαAN Θαρσις.

7 Thou wilt break the ships of Tharsis with a vehement wind.

8 in spiritu vehementi conteres naves Tharsis

7 Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.

7 With an eastern-storm wind You will shatter the merchant-ships of Tarshish.

(ח) בְּרוּחַ קָדִיםAO תְּשַׁבֵּר אֳנִיּוֹת תַּרְשִׁישׁAP.

8 ברוחא עשׁינתא נתתברן אלפא דתרשׁישׁ

9 καθάπερ ἠκούσαμεν, οὕτως εἴδομεν ἐν πόλει κυρίου τῶν δυνάμεων, ἐν πόλει τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν· ὁ θεὸς ἐθεμελίω­σεν αὐτὴν εἰς τὸν αἰῶ­να. διάψαλμα.

8 As we have heard, so have we also seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God has founded it for ever. Pause.

9 sicut audivimus sic vidimus in civitate Domini virtutum in civitate Dei nostri Deus fundavit eam in aeternum diapsalma 

8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.

8 Just as we have heard, so now we have seen, in the city of Yahweh of army-hosts – in the city of our God: God will establish her for ever! SELAH

(ט) כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְנוּ כֵּן רָאִינוּ בְּעִיר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת בְּעִיר אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֱלֹהִים יְכוֹנְנֶהָAQ עַד עוֹלָם סֶלָה.

9 איך דשׁמען הכן חזין בקריתה דמריא חילתנא בקריתה דאלהן אלהא נתקניה עדמא לעלם X

10 ὑπελάβομενAR, ὁ θεός, τὸ ἔλεός σου ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ναοῦ σου.

9 We have thought of thy mercy, O God, in the midst of thy people.

10 suscepi­mus Deus misericord­iam tuam in medio templiAS tui

9 We have thought of thy loving­kindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.

9 We analysed Your lovingkindness, God, while close to Your temple.

דִּמִּינוּ אֱלֹהִים חַסְדֶּךָ בְּקֶרֶב הֵיכָלֶךָ.

10 סברןAT אלהא לטיבותך בגוה דהיכלך

11 κατὰ τὸ ὄνομά σου, ὁ θεός, οὕτως καὶ ἡ αἴνεσίς σου ἐπὶ τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς· δικαιοσύνης πλήρης ἡ δεξιά σου.

10 Accord­ing to thy name, O God, so is also thy praise to the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of right­eousness.

11 secund­um nomen tuum Deus sic et laus tua in fines terrae iustitia plena est dextera tua

10 Accord­ing to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of right­eousness.

10 In proportion to your reputation, God, so is Your praise to the ends of the earth. It is with righteousness that your right hand is full.

כְּשִׁמְךָ אֱלֹהִים כֵּן תְּהִלָּתְךָ עַל קַצְוֵי אֶרֶץ צֶדֶק מָלְאָה יְמִינֶךָ.

11איך שׁמך אלהא הכנא תשׁבחתך עדמאAU לסופיה דארעא זדיקותא מליא ימינך

12 εὐφρανθήτωAV τὸ ὄρος Σιων, ἀγαλλιάσθωσαν αἱ θυγατέρες τῆς Ιουδαίας ἕνεκεν τῶν κριμάτων σου, [κύριε]. 

11 Let mount Sion rejoice, let the dau­ghters of Ju­daea exult, because of thy judg­ments, [O Lord].

12 laetetur mons Sion exultent filiae Iudaeae propter iudicia tua [Domine];

11 Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daugh­ters of Judah be glad, be­cause of thy judgments.

11 Mount Zion will be happy; the daughters of Judah will rejoice on account of your judicial-rulings, [Yahweh].

AWיִשְׂמַח הַר צִיּוֹן תָּגֵלְנָה בְּנוֹת יְהוּדָה לְמַעַן מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ.

12נחדא טורא דצהיון [ו]נדוצן בנת יהודא מטל דיניך [מריא]

13 κυκλώσατε Σιων καὶ περιλάβετε αὐτήν, διηγήσασθεAX ἐν τοῖς πύργοις αὐτῆς,

12 Go round about Sion, and en­compass her: tell ye her towers.

13 circum­date Sion et conplectim­ini eam narrate in turribus eius

12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the tow­ers thereof.

12 Y’all, circulate around Zion, and make a circuit of her; count her towers;

סֹבּוּ צִיּוֹן וְהַקִּיפוּהָ סִפְרוּ מִגְדָּלֶיהָ.

13 תכרכוה [ל]צהיון וחודרוה [ו]מנו מגדליה

14 θέσθε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν εἰς τὴν δύναμινAY αὐτῆς [καὶ] καταδιέλεσθεAZ τὰς βάρεις αὐτῆς, ὅπως ἂν διηγήσησθε εἰς γενεὰν ἑτέραν.

13 Mark ye well her strength, [and] observe her palaces; that ye may tell the next generation.

14 ponite corda vestra in virtute eius [et] distribuite domus eius ut enarretis in progeni­em alteram

13 Mark ye well her bulwark[s], consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.

13 impress up­on your hearts her defensive-wall, [and] take the alleys between her compounds, in order that y’all may recount to the following generation

שִׁיתוּ לִבְּכֶם BAלְחֵילָה פַּסְּגוּBB אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ לְמַעַן תְּסַפְּרוּ לְדוֹר אַחֲרוֹן.

14 סימו לבכון על חילה [ו]עקורוBC סחרתה דתשׁתעון לדרא אחריא

15 ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα [τοῦ αἰῶνος]· αὐτὸς ποιμανεῖ ἡμᾶς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.

14 For this is {GodBD} our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide for evermore.

15 quoniam hic est Deus Deus noster in aeternum et in saeculum saeculi ipse reget nos in saeculaaBE

14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he X will be our guide even unto death.

14 that this is God – our God – forever and ever. It is He who will lead us away against death.

כִּי זֶה אֱלֹהִים אֱלֹהֵינוּBF עוֹלָם וָעֶד הוּא יְנַהֲגֵנוּ עַל מוּתBG.

15 דהנו אלהא אלהן לעלם ולעלם עלמין והו נדברני לעל מן מותא


1Ibn Ezra, Calvin, Henry, Fausset, Spurgeon, Cohen, NIV, GWilson

2“Not with sandals, but with love,” commented Augustine.

3“[I]n these external things the blessing of God in some respect shone forth... In making mention here of her towers and walls, we are not to suppose that he would have the minds of the faithful to rest in these things. He rather sets them before us as a mirror in which the character of God may be seen.” ~J. Calvin

4As Christians we see additional meaning in that phrase “unto death” because that is the course Jesus took to save us from spiritual death and give us eternal life. As Philippians 2 says, “He humbled himself... to the point of death, even death by crucifixion, therefore God also highly exalted Him.” (NAW)

AMy original chart includes the NASB, NIV, and ESV, but their copyright restrictions force me to remove them from the publicly-available edition of this chart. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea Scrolls containing Psalm 48 are 4Q85 Psalmsc (which contains a fragment of v.14) and 4Q91 Psalmsj (which contains fragments of vs.1-8). Where the DSS is legible and reads the same as the MT, the Hebrew text is colored purple. Where the DSS or Vulgate and Peshitta support the LXX with text not in the MT, I have highlighted with yellow the LXX and its translation into English.

BThis Greek New Testament is the 1904 "Patriarchal" edition of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine majority text of the GNT and the Textus Receptus are very similar. The Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, and UBS editions are a slightly-different family of GNTs developed in the modern era as a break from the traditional Greek Bible by compiling just a few of the oldest-known manuscripts, but even so, the practical differences in the text between these two editing philosophies are minimal.

CEnglish translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, published in 1851, “based upon the text of the Vaticanus,” but not identical to the Vaticanus. As published electronically by E-Sword.

DJerome's Latin Vulgate w/ Deuterocanon using Gallican Psalter, 405 AD. As published electronically by E-Sword.

E1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published electronically by E-Sword.

FFrom the Wiki Hebrew Bible https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%AA%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%9E%D7%96/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA .
DSS text comes from https://downloads.thewaytoyahuweh.com .

GThe Leiden Peshitta, Copyright © 2012 by The Peshitta Foundation c/o Leiden University Institute for Religious Studies, as published electronically in BibleWorks. I have greyed out words that are added to the MT text and colored orange words which are different from the MT.

HFields indicated that Aquila, in his 2nd century AD translation into Greek, and Symmachus, in his 3rd century AD translation into Greek, and others read ‘υμνητος (“sung hymns about”).

IAugustine commented that since this was the day of the creation week that the firmament of heaven was created, it went together with redeemed mankind who would inhabit heaven.

JThis is one of the 60 Psalms with the word Mizmor (“Psalm”) in the title, and one of 33 that have the word Shiyr (“song”) in the title, but one of only 10 with both words in the title, the others being Psalms 66; 83; 88, and 108 (which read shiyr mizmor like this title) and 30; 67; 68; 87 and 92 (which reverse the two words in the title to read mizmor shiyr).

KSeptuagint and Vulgate add “during the second [day] of the week,” so it is an ancient tradition for this Psalm to be especially for Mondays!

LThis phrase “great is the LORD and greatly to be praised” is also found in 1 Chron. 16:25; Psalm 96:4, and Psalm 145:3.

M“City of our God” does not occur in the Bible outside this psalm, but “city of God” occurs in Psalm 46:4 and Psalm 87:3.

NThe ancient versions (LXX, Peshitta, Vulgate) add “in” here (and the Peshitta also adds an “and”).

OPeshitta inserts the preposition “our” – which doesn’t change anything substantially.

PTheodotian agreed with this text, but Aquila rendered it καλω βλαστηματι χαρματι (“good for sprouting of orchards?”) and Symmachus απ’ αρχης αφωρισμενω αγλαισματι (“from the beginning distinguished in height?”)

QAquila, Symmachus, and Origen’s “E” translated this word μηροι (“thighs”).

R“Mountain” is singular in the Hebrew and so it is singular in the Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, and in Ralphs’ edition of the LXX, but it is plural in the Vulgate and here in Brenton. (Augustine interpreted the plural in the Vulgate as indicating that the Gentiles as well as the Jews would become God’s people.)

SHapex Legomenon. Delitzsch: “...nauf, root נף, the stronger force of נב, Arab. nb, ‘to raise one's self, to mount, to come sensibly forward;’ just as יפה also goes back to a root יף, Arab. yf, wf, which signifies ‘to rise, to be high,’ and is transferred in the Hebrew to eminence, perfection, beauty of form, a beautifully rising terrace-like height; Note: Luther with Jerome (departing from the lxx and Vulgate) renders it: “Mount Zion is like a beautiful branch,” after the Mishna-Talmudic נוף, ‘a branch,’ Maccoth 12a, which is compared also by Saadia and Dunash. The latter renders it ‘beautiful in branches,’ and refers it to the Mount of Olives.” (In a footnote to Calvin’s commentary, Anderson noted that Augustine and Ambrose also supported this meaning of “spreading/branching out.”) Jewish commentators generally take it to mean “geographically ideal” (according to Cohen’s Soncino Book of Psalms, citing Kimchi and Hirsch), and Calvin followed that direction (as did Anderson, in a footnote to Calvin’s commentary, citing Montanus and Ainsworth in support), although with the caveat that, “When we hear the beauty of the city here celebrated, let us call to our remembrance that spiritual beauty which was added to the natural beauty of the place... that the ark would there abide for ever.”

T“joy/delight/gladness” This is the only use of this word in the Psalms, but Isaiah uses it a bit (cf. Isaiah 24:8, 11; 32:13-14; 60:15; 62:5; 65:18; 66:10).

UTWOT: “In Canaanite religion the assembly of the gods was thought to meet in the far north. Therefore the Psalmist is using poetic language to show that Zion is the religious center, not only for Israel, but for the entire world.”
NAW: The above interpretation would be consistent with what we read in Isaiah 14:13-15. (It might also correspond somewhat with Job 26:7, although that pictures the North as empty, not as full of minor deities.) However, in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, it is merely human foreigners who live in the sides of the north and who muster armies to march south and capture those south of them (Jer. 6:22; 25:32; 31:8; 50:41; Ezek. 32:23; 38:6, 15; 39:2, cf. Zeph. 2:13). But there is one other passage which uses the same word for “sides” and the same word for “north” in reference to Jerusalem, and that is Ezekiel 46:19, where the angel is taking Ezekiel on a tour of the ideal temple. Exodus 26 also mentions “north sides” to the tabernacle.
DELITZSCH: “Hitzig, Ewald, Hengstenberg, Caspari (Micha, p. 359), and others, are of opinion that the hill of Zion is called the ‘extreme north’ with reference to the old Asiatic conception of the mountain of the gods... forming the connecting link between heaven and earth, which lay in the inaccessible, holy distance and concealment of the extreme north. But... we have no trace of the Israelitish mind having blended this foreign mythological style of speech with its own. We therefore take the expression ‘sides of the north’ to be a topographical designation, and intended literally. Mount Zion is thereby more definitely designated as the Temple-hill; for the Temple-hill, or Zion in the narrower sense, formed in reality the north-eastern angle or corner of ancient Jerusalem. It is not necessarily the extreme north (Ezek. 38:6; 39:2), which is called ירכתי צפון; for ירכּתים are the two sides, then the angle in which the two side lines meet, and just such a northern angle was Mount Moriah by its position in relation to the city of David and the lower city.” (Cohen agreed in his Soncino commentary: “an account of Jerusalem in its two main divisions: Mount Zion, i.e. Moriah, which lies to the northeast, and the city proper, which is at its foot.”

VThis is different from the other word for “city” (‘iyr) used in vs.1 & 8. This word denotes a city that is “built up/developed/walled.” The Peshitta makes no distinction between the two words, rendering them all kiryat.

W“the great King; of Christ the King of kings” ~ John Gill. (It’s surprising how few commentators said this explicitly.)

XBoth Bauscher and Lamsa translated this “slopes,” adding yet another reasonable possibility to the meaning of the phrase.

YAquila (‘υπερεπαρσιν – highly-exalted place) and Symmachus (βασιλειοις - basilicas) used synonymous words.

ZSymmachus translated more along the lines of the MT with εις οχυρομα (“for a firm place”).

AANASB, NIV, and ESV interpreted the Niphal stem here as reflexive (“makes Himself known” - which is grammatically possible), whereas KJV and Vulgate and NAW interpreted it as passive (“is known”).

ABThe LXX, Vulgate, and Peshitta all abandoned the lamed prefix for either a temporal “when” or, in the case of the Peshitta, no preposition, and all added a pronoun at the end of the noun here (“her” in the case of the LXX and Vulgate, and “his” in the case of the Peshitta). Gerald Wilson, in the NIV Application Commentary, suggested that this mishgab describes a “mountain hideout.”

ACAquila and Symmachus used the synonym συνεταξαντο (giving a stronger connotation of mobilizing for war) and shaded the meaning of the ensuing verb “went” by adding the prefix δια- (“by” or “through”), which is more like the MT text.

ADAlthough not in the Rahlfs edition, this added phrase is found in three Greek manuscripts: Alexandrinus, Lucian Rescription, and Veronensis. It merely clarifies what is already implied in the Hebrew, Latin, and Syriac texts, for if this plurality of kings is “alarmed… panicking... running away” from a well-“established” Jerusalem, they must be foreign kings, not residents.

AEThe DSS does not have a definite article here like the MT and LXX do, nor does the Peshitta, but it doesn’t make for a significant difference in meaning whether it is “kings” or “the kings.”
As for who these kings were, commentators are all over the map:
* RASHI & KIMCHI: the eschatological attack of Gog and Magog against Israel.
* GILL: “this seems to refer to the latter day of the Gospel dispensation, when all the kings of the earth, Pagan, Papal, and Mahometan, will be gathered together at the instigation of Satan, to the battle of the great day of the Lord God Almighty, in a place called Armageddon, where they will be defeated by Christ the King of kings, Rev. 16:13.”
*BARNES: “The kings referred to, if the allusion here is, as is supposed, to the time of Jehoshaphat, were the kings of Ammon and of Moab, and of Mount Seir, and perhaps others, not particularly mentioned, who came up against Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20, Psalm 83:3-5).” (Faussett, Delitzsch, and Mudge agreed.)
* DATTA: “Pre-Exilic, written during the deliverance from Sennacherib’s invasion.” (Kirkpatrick apparently agreed.)
*CALMETThis is apparently the same tempest which struck dismay into the land-forces of Cambyses, and wrecked his fleet which was on the coasts of the Mediterranean sea, opposite to his army near the port of Acco, or the Ptolemais; for Cambyses had his quarters at Ecbatana, at the foot of Mount Carmel; and his army was encamped in the valley of Jezreel.”
*HENRY & SPURGEON applied it generally as the sort of thing which happened often with God’s people.
*CALVIN: “It is probable that the psalm is to be referred to the time of king Ahaz, when the city was besieged and the inhabitants brought to the point of utter despair, and when, nevertheless, the siege was suddenly raised, (2 Kings 16:5;)... Jerusalem was preserved from utter destruction only by miraculous aid from heaven.”
*AUGUSTINE: “Behold now those ‘sides of the North,’ see how they come, see how they say, ‘Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord: and He will teach us His way, and we will walk in it’ ... After their marvelling at the miracles and glory of Christ, what followed? ... Whence took trembling hold upon them, but from the consciousness of sins? Let them run then, king after a king; kings, let them acknowledge the King. Therefore saith He elsewhere, ‘Yet have I been set by Him a King upon His holy hill of Sion.’”

AFThe only instance of kings performing the action of this verb is Joshua 11:5 “And when all these kings had met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.” (But that was not at Jerusalem.)

AGDelitzsch (following Henry and Adam Clarke and Calvin) was insistent that this means “conquered,” and that interpretation seems to be supported by the LXX, NIV, and ESV, but Cohen, following Rashi (and Barnes), believed that it meant “passed by without fighting against,” and the KJV and NASB seem to support that interpretation. Gill was undecided between the two meanings.

AHcf. synonyms from Aquila (εθαμβηθησαν = “astounded”) and Symmachus (εξεπλαηησαν = “shocked”).

AI“[T]hey were troubled: as Herod and all Jerusalem were, upon hearing of the birth of Christ (Mat. 2:3); so these kings will be, upon seeing the coming and power of Christ in the latter day, the invincibleness of his church, and their own immediate and utter ruin: this will be the time of the howling of the shepherds, both civil and ecclesiastical, when all hands will be faint, and every man's heart will melt (Zec. 11:2).” ~J. Gill

AJ2 Old Latin manuscripts add an “and” before this verb, a few Hebrew manuscripts switch the second and third letters of the word (changing the meaning only slightly from “alarmed/startled/hurried” to “agitated/boiled over”), but the Syriac omits this verb altogether. I like Calvin’s translation “precipitately.”

AKThis word for “trembling” only occurs in the Hebrew O.T. here and in Job 4:14, Ps. 2:11, and Isa. 33:14 (“Sinners in Zion were terrified פָּחֲד֤וּ; trembling gripped the corrupt ones…”).

AL“there” omitted by the Syriac and by Symmachus in his Greek version. It is not essential, but it renders more emphasis.

AMCompare with Isaiah 13:8 “They will be dismayed (from בְהַ֖לְ): pangs and agony (חֲבָלִ) will seize them; they will be in anguish (יְחִיל֑וּן) like a woman birthing…” and 21:3 “Therefore my loins filled with agony (חַלְחָלָ֔ה); pangs (צִירִ֣ים) seized me, like birth pangs; I have been bent from hearing; I have been dismayed from seeing.” (NAW) The phrase “pangs like a woman birthing” is repeated in Jer. 6:24; 22:23; 50:43; and Mic. 4:9.

ANΑquila and Symmachus accurately translated ναυς – larger “ships” rather than the little fishing “boats.”

AOThe more-ancient versions (Septuagint Greek, Vulgate Latin, and Peshitta Syriac) all translated this word “violent.” They also translated it “burning” or “south-wind” in other instances in the O.T., but it appears that the modern consensus of lexicographers has settled on the meaning of “east wind.” Anderson commented in a footnote of Calvin’s commentary: “The east wind in Judea and in the Mediterranean is very tempestuous and destructive. It is also very dry and parching, as well as sudden and terrible in its action. (Gen. 41:6; Ex. 14:21; Ezek. 19:12; 27:26; Job 27:21; Isa. 27:8; Jer. 18:17; Jonah 4:8) ...’Such a wind,’ says Bishop Mant, ‘is well known to the modern mariner by the name of Levanter, and is of the same kind as that spoken of in the twenty-seventh chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, under the name of Euroclydon.’”

APAugustine considered Tarshish to mean Carthage of North Africa, Calvin though it meant Tarsus of Cilicia in Asia Minor, Gill thought it meant the Mediterranean “sea in general,” but most modern commentators (e.g. Gerald Wilson) pin Tarshish on the Iberian peninsula of Spain.

AQcf. Psalm 87:5 “And of Zion it will be said, ‘This one and that one were born in her; And the Most High Himself shall establish her.’” (NKJV) What they “heard” was the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7:13, 1 Chron. 22:10, Psalm 89:3-4, Isaiah 9:7), in which God promised to “establish” David’s kingdom “forever.” Now they “see” fulfillment of that promise in their time.

ARAquila = ‘ωμοιωσαμεν (“we became like”), Symmachus = εικασαμεν (“we imagined”)

ASAugustine was following a different Latin version which read “people” here instead of “temple,” and that appears to be what Brenton was following. The Vulgate here reads “temple” (and that is also the reading of Douay’s English translation of the Vulgate).

ATBauscher translated “proclaimed,” Lamsa = “trusted.” The Hebrew word is a little hard to translate, the idea of “likeness” being foremost, perhaps “comparing and contrasting” being the idea here. Cf. the Greek ὑπελάβομεν (lit. “received under”) and the Latin suscepimus (Douay = “received”). Calvin, following Rashi and the Targums, translated it “waited,” and Ibn Ezra & Kimchi translated it “thought.”

AUSyriac, Arabic, and Latin versions used a slightly-different preposition which is centered on the meaning of “unto” rather than the Hebrew preposition which is centered on the meaning of “upon.”

AVAquila and Symmachus disagreed with the Jussive translation of the Septuagint and rendered the verbs in this verse as Indicatives instead of Imperatives in their Greek translations. Similarly, Calvin translated these verbs as Indicative rather than Jussive. This is reflected in the NIV translation.

AWThe Hebrew spelling of this verb can either be Jussive (“let her rejoice”) or Imperfect tense (“she rejoices/she will rejoice”). The commands in the subsequent verses are a different form in Hebrew (plural Imperatives).

AXAquila and Symmachus corrected toward the meaning of the MT with ψηθισατε/αριθμξσατε, which both mean “count.”

AYAquila and Symmachus translated with more specific words for a bulwark (ευποριαν/περιβολον) whereas the Septuagint focused on the simple root meaning of the Hebrew word.

AZLit. “go down through.” Symmachus rendered it διαμετρησατε (“measure thoroughly” - or more figuratively “pace off?”)

BALit. “set the heart of y’all to.” This Hebrew figure of speech is also used in Exod. 7:23; 1 Sam. 4:20; 2 Sam. 13:20; Job 7:17; Ps. 62:11; Prov. 22:17; 24:32; 27:23; and Jer. 31:21. Of this, Matthew Henry commented, “This intimates that the principal bulwarks of Zion were not the objects of sense, which they might set their eye upon, but the objects of faith, which they must set their hearts upon.”
The root of the Hebrew word is “strength,” so the ancient versions picked up on that root meaning, but the figurative meaning parallel to “towers” seems to be intended by the author here, and that is the singular, outer, defensive wall made of earth or masonry.

BBHapex Legomenon. Holliday refused to hazard a definition for this word in his lexicon. BDB defined it as “pass between” but said that the “meaning is dubious.” So any translation is fair game, but has to fit with the rest of the verse. Syriac interprets it as “below,” Targum interprets it as “above,” Septuagint as “go down through,” and Vulgate as “distribute.” Calvin translated it “exalt.” English translations prior to the mid-20th century went with “observe/behold/consider.” In the mid-19th century, Delitzsch found the word used in B. Baba kamma 81b, to mean “cut through [a vineyard in a part where there is no way leading through it],” and criticized Luther’s translation erhöhen (“extol”) as “a false deduction from the name פּסגּה,” but rather commended Louis de Dieu’s rendering ambulate. This got me thinking about the alleyways that separate one compound from another in a city. All the ancient versions have an “and” before this word.

BCBaucher = “pull down,” Lamsa = “the depth”

BDBrenton omitted this English word, but I have supplied it because it is in the LXX.

BEField’s Hexapla Origenis indicates that there are ancient Latin translations that follow the Hebrew with ad mortem and super mortem, as well as a Greek translation by Aquila (αθανασια) that reads “deathless” (but also notes that Symmachus split the difference between the LXX and Hebrew textual traditions, much like the NIV did, with διηνεκες “ceaselessly.”) Jerome apparently translated it into Latin both ways in his lifetime. Even Augustine (who followed the Vulgate reading) tipped his hat to the other reading, opening his exegesis of this verse by saying, “He protecteth us, being our God, lest we die.” Calvin accepted “unto death.” Some scholars, however, have suggested that it might not be part of Psalm 48 at all, but rather a mis-spelled and misplaced attempt at labeling Psalm 49 (or 48) as an “Alamoth” psalm, but that hypothesis would require an awful lot of tolerance for a really-obvious error, and I find that unlikely.

BFMasoretic cantillation separates “this” from “God” and connects “God” with “our God” https://hb.openscriptures.org/structure/OshbVerse/index.html?b=Ps&c=50&v=1, and the LXX and Vulgate reflect this clearly, so I think the KJV and NIV may be inaccurate in connecting “this” with “God” as an attributive adjective.

BGThe Hebrew, supported by the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, says literally, “upon death,” and the Peshitta supports that, so, even though the LXX and Vulgate read “forever,” and although it is theologically true that God’s “reign” (Vulgate) and “shepherding” (LXX) will go forever beyond death, the Hebrew text limits us to “death.” (However, not even Jewish rabbis are agreed on the meaning: Kimchi interpreted “until death,” Rashi = “like young children,” Hirsch = “beyond death into immortality,” and Menachem = “for ever.” Calvin’s explanation that one gets the meaning “forever” when you run the two Hebrew words together founders on the facts that a maqef separates the two words and that, even if they were to be run together as עלמות, it would not be translated “forever.” (Where that run-together spelling does occur in the Bible, it is translated either as a musical term – 1 Chron. 15:20 and Psalm 9:1 & 46:1, or as as “secrets” – Job 11:6 and Psalm 44:22, or as “virgins” – Psalm 68:26 and Song of Solomon 1:3 & 6:8. Cf. Delitzsch “עֹלָמֹות, however, as equivalent to αἰῶνες is Mishnic, not Biblical… Probably it is a marginal note of the melody… [as] Hitzig, Reggio… [and] Böttcher [suggested].”) The Hebrew preposition usually means “upon” or “against,” or sometimes “to,” but not “until” (that would be a different Hebrew word: עד). The Verb also usually means “lead away” (cf. the previous instance of the verb in Job 24:3) so it may not be a picture of “leading in” to prosperity, but rather of “leading away” from death, and that would be consistent with the message of this Psalm which is more about salvation from enemy attack than about eternal life.

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