Psalm 84

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord

1. To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.[a] A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 1 How lovely is your dwelling place, 1 O Lord of hosts!

2. My soul longs, yes, faints 2 for the courts of the Lord; 2 my heart and flesh sing for joy 2 to the living God.

3. Even the sparrow finds a home, 3 and the swallow a nest for herself, 3 where she may lay her young, 3 at your altars, O Lord of hosts, 3 my King and my God.

4. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, 4 ever singing your praise! Selah

5. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, 5 in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[b]

6. As they go through the Valley of Baca 6 they make it a place of springs; 6 the early rain also covers it with pools.

7. They go from strength to strength; 7 each one appears before God in Zion.

8. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; 8 give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

9. Behold our shield, O God; 9 look on the face of your anointed!

10. For a day in your courts is better 10 than a thousand elsewhere. 10 I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God 10 than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; 11 the Lord bestows favor and honor. 11 No good thing does he withhold 11 from those who walk uprightly.

12. O Lord of hosts, 12 blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Footnotes:
a. Psalm 84:1: Probably a musical or liturgical term
b. Psalm 84:5: Hebrew lacks to Zion