Psalms 84

1 For the chief musician; set to the Gittith style. A psalm of the sons of Korah. How lovely is the place where you live, Yahweh of hosts!

For the music director. A psalm of the descendants of Korah. On the gittith. How wonderful is the place where you live, Lord Almighty!

2 I long for the courts of Yahweh, my desire for it has made me exhausted. My heart and all of my being call out to the living God.

I long, I ache, to be in the courts of the Lord. My mind and my body sing for joy to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found her a house and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young near your altars, Yahweh of hosts, my King, and my God.

Even a sparrow finds a home there, and a swallow builds a nest for herself where she can raise her chicks near to your altars, Lord Almighty, my king and my God.

4 Blessed are they who live in your house; they praise you continually. (Selah)

How happy are those who live in your house—they are always praising you! (Selah)

5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways up to Zion.

How happy are those whose strength is in you, those who are determined to make a pilgrimage.

6 Passing through the Valley of Tears, they find springs of water to drink. The early rains cover it with blessings.

As they walk through the Valley of Tears it becomes a spring of water; autumn rains cover it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength; every one of them appears before God in Zion.

They go from strength to strength, and each one will appear before God in Jerusalem.

8 Yahweh God of hosts, hear my prayer; God of Jacob, listen to what I am saying! (Selah)

Lord God Almighty, please hear my prayer; please listen, God of Jacob. (Selah)

9 God, watch over our shield; show concern for your anointed.

Please God, look at our defender, look at the face of your anointed one.

10 For one day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to live within the tents of the wicked.

One day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else. I'd rather stand as a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live comfortably in the homes of the wicked.

11 For Yahweh God is our sun and shield; Yahweh will give grace and glory; he does not withhold any good thing from those who walk in integrity.

For the Lord God is our sun and shield, and he gives us grace and honor. The Lord doesn't hold back anything good from those who do right.

12 Yahweh of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Lord Almighty, how happy are those who trust in you.