84:2 I desperately want to be 1
in the courts of the Lord’s temple. 2
My heart and my entire being 3 shout for joy
to the living God.
84:3 Even the birds find a home there,
and the swallow 4 builds a nest,
where she can protect her young 5
near your altars, O Lord who rules over all,
my king and my God.
1 tn Heb “my soul longs, it even pines for.”
2 tn Heb “the courts of the
3 tn Heb “my flesh,” which stands for his whole person and being.
4 tn The word translated “swallow” occurs only here and in Prov 26:2.
5 tn Heb “even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, [in] which she places her young.”
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.