Psalms
Chapter 84
This psalm is the song of someone traveling to the temple in Jerusalem. The writer misses God's house so much that he envies the birds that nest near the altar. He describes pilgrims growing stronger as they walk, and says one day in God's courts is worth more than a thousand days anywhere else.
Plain reading written for preteens. Clear and complete, at about a fifth grade reading level.
How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
1LORD of Heaven's Armies, how lovely is the place where you live!
"Amiable" in 1611 English meant lovely or delightful, not friendly. "Tabernacles" means God's dwelling place, here the temple.
2My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
2I want to be in the LORD's courtyards so much that I feel weak. My whole body and soul call out for the living God.
3Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
3Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow has a nest where she lays her babies. They nest near your altars, LORD of Heaven's Armies, my King and my God.
Sparrows and swallows are small birds that build nests in high, sheltered spots, such as the walls and beams of a building.
4Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
4Happy are the people who live in your house. They keep on praising you. Selah.
5Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
5Happy is the person who gets his strength from you, whose heart is set on the journey to your house.
6Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
6As they walk through the Valley of Baca, they turn it into a place of springs. The autumn rain fills it with pools.
The Valley of Baca was a dry, hard stretch on the road to Jerusalem. Its name sounds like the Hebrew word for weeping.
7They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
7They keep getting stronger as they go, until each one stands before God in Zion.
8O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
8LORD God of Heaven's Armies, hear my prayer. Listen to me, God of Jacob. Selah.
9Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
9God, look at our shield. Look kindly on the face of the king you chose.
"Thine anointed" means the person God chose and set apart, marked by pouring oil on his head. Here it means the king.
10For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
10One day in your courtyards is better than a thousand days anywhere else. I would rather stand at the door of my God's house than live in the tents of wicked people.
11For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
11The LORD God is like a sun and a shield. The LORD gives kindness and honor. He does not hold back anything good from people who live honest lives.
12O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
12LORD of Heaven's Armies, happy is the person who trusts in you.
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