Mazmur 84:1-4

Psalm 84 ¹ 

For the music director; according to the gittith style; ²  written by the Korahites, a psalm.

84:1 How lovely is the place where you live, ³ 

O Lord who rules over all! ⁴ 

84:2 I desperately want to be ⁵ 

in the courts of the Lord’s temple. ⁶ 

My heart and my entire being ⁷  shout for joy

to the living God.

84:3 Even the birds find a home there,

and the swallow ⁸  builds a nest,

where she can protect her young ⁹ 

near your altars, O Lord who rules over all,

my king and my God.

84:4 How blessed ¹⁰  are those who live in your temple

and praise you continually! (Selah)

[84:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 84. The psalmist expresses his desire to be in God’s presence in the Jerusalem temple, for the Lord is the protector of his people.

[84:1]  ² tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument.

[84:1]  ³ tn Or “your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 43:3; 46:4; 132:5, 7).

[84:1]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.” The title draws attention to God’s sovereign position (see Ps 69:6).

[84:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “my soul longs, it even pines for.”

[84:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “the courts of the Lord” (see Ps 65:4).

[84:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “my flesh,” which stands for his whole person and being.

[84:3]  ⁸ tn The word translated “swallow” occurs only here and in Prov 26:2.

[84:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, [in] which she places her young.”

[84:3]  sn The psalmist here romanticizes the temple as a place of refuge and safety. As he thinks of the birds nesting near its roof, he envisions them finding protection in God’s presence.

[84:4]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see v. 12 and Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).