Mazmur 84:3-4

84:3 Even the birds find a home there,

and the swallow ¹  builds a nest,

where she can protect her young ² 

near your altars, O Lord who rules over all,

my king and my God.

84:4 How blessed ³  are those who live in your temple

and praise you continually! (Selah)

[84:3]  ¹ tn The word translated “swallow” occurs only here and in Prov 26:2.

[84:3]  ² 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]  ³ 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).