Mazmur 9:11

9:11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules ¹  in Zion!

Tell the nations what he has done! ² 

Mazmur 48:2

48:2 It is lofty and pleasing to look at, ³ 

a source of joy to the whole earth. ⁴ 

Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon; ⁵ 

it is the city of the great king.

Mazmur 48:11

48:11 Mount Zion rejoices;

the towns ⁶  of Judah are happy, ⁷ 

because of your acts of judgment. ⁸ 

Mazmur 78:68

78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah,

and Mount Zion, which he loves.

Mazmur 110:2

110:2 The Lord ⁹  extends ¹⁰  your dominion ¹¹  from Zion.

Rule in the midst of your enemies!

Mazmur 133:3

133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, ¹² 

which flows down upon the hills of Zion. ¹³ 

Indeed ¹⁴  that is where the Lord has decreed

a blessing will be available – eternal life. ¹⁵ 

[9:11]  ¹ tn Heb “sits” (i.e., enthroned, and therefore ruling – see v. 4). Another option is to translate as “lives” or “dwells.”

[9:11]  ² tn Heb “declare among the nations his deeds.”

[48:2]  ³ tn Heb “beautiful of height.” The Hebrew term נוֹף (nof, “height”) is a genitive of specification after the qualitative noun “beautiful.” The idea seems to be that Mount Zion, because of its lofty appearance, is pleasing to the sight.

[48:2]  ⁴ sn A source of joy to the whole earth. The language is hyperbolic. Zion, as the dwelling place of the universal king, is pictured as the world’s capital. The prophets anticipated this idealized picture becoming a reality in the eschaton (see Isa 2:1-4).

[48:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “Mount Zion, the peaks of Zaphon.” Like all the preceding phrases in v. 2, both phrases are appositional to “city of our God, his holy hill” in v. 1, suggesting an identification in the poet’s mind between Mount Zion and Zaphon. “Zaphon” usually refers to the “north” in a general sense (see Pss 89:12; 107:3), but here, where it is collocated with “peaks,” it refers specifically to Mount Zaphon, located in the vicinity of ancient Ugarit and viewed as the mountain where the gods assembled (see Isa 14:13). By alluding to West Semitic mythology in this way, the psalm affirms that Mount Zion is the real divine mountain, for it is here that the Lord God of Israel lives and rules over the nations. See P. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 353, and T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 103.

[48:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “daughters.” The reference is to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 97:8 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).

[48:11]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as generalizing imperfects. (For other examples of an imperfect followed by causal לְמַעַן [lÿma’an], see Ps 23:3; Isa 49:7; 55:5.) Another option is to interpret the forms as jussives, “Let Mount Zion rejoice! Let the towns of Judah be happy!” (cf. NASB, NRSV; note the imperatives in vv. 12-13.)

[48:11]  ⁸ sn These acts of judgment are described in vv. 4-7.

[110:2]  ⁹ tn Since the Lord is mentioned in the third person (note the use of the first person in v. 1), it is likely that these are the psalmist’s words to the king, not a continuation of the oracle per se.

[110:2]  ¹⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though it could be taken as future.

[110:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your strong scepter,” symbolic of the king’s royal authority and dominion.

[133:3]  ¹² sn Hermon refers to Mount Hermon, located north of Israel.

[133:3]  ¹³ sn The hills of Zion are those surrounding Zion (see Pss 87:1; 125:2). The psalmist does not intend to suggest that the dew from Mt. Hermon in the distant north actually flows down upon Zion. His point is that the same kind of heavy dew that replenishes Hermon may also be seen on Zion’s hills. See A. Cohen, Psalms (SoBB), 439. “Dew” here symbolizes divine blessing, as the next line suggests.

[133:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for.”

[133:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forever.”