(A song and a psalm for the people of Korah.)

The city of God

1The LORD God is wonderful!

He deserves all praise

in the city where he lives.

His holy mountain,

2beautiful and majestic,48.2: Mt 5.35.

brings joy to all on earth.

Mount Zion, truly sacred,

is home for the Great King.

3God is there to defend it

and has proved to be

its protector.

4Kings joined forces

to attack the city,

5but when they saw it,

they were terrified

and ran away.

6They trembled all over

like women giving birth

7or like seagoing ships48.7 seagoing ships: The Hebrew text has “ships of Tarshish”, which probably means large, seagoing ships.

wrecked by eastern winds.

8We had heard about it,

and now we have seen it

in the city of our God,

the LORD All-Powerful.

This is the city that God

will let stand for ever.

9Our God, here in your temple

we think about your love.

10You are famous and praised

everywhere on earth,

as you win victories

with your powerful arm.

11Mount Zion will celebrate,

and all Judah will be glad,

because you bring justice.

12Let's walk around Zion

and count its towers.

13We will see its strong walls

and visit each fortress.

Then you can say

to future generations,

14“Our God is like this for ever

and will always48.14 always: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. guide us.”