Glorious Things Are Spoken About You
Psalm 87 summary: what it means
Psalm 87 is only seven verses long. It praises Zion, the city of God, whose foundation is in the holy mountains and whose gates the LORD loves more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Then it does something unexpected. It names foreign places: Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge God, then Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia, and says: this one was born there.
The idea of birth runs through the rest. Of Zion it will be said that this one and that one was born in her, and when the LORD writes up the peoples he records them as born there. The psalm ends with singers and dancers saying all my springs are in you, as though the city were their source.
Psalm 87: Glorious Things Are Spoken About You
World English Bible, public domain. allpsalms.com/psalm-87
Psalm 87 commentary: explained verse by verse
His foundation is in the holy mountains.
His foundation is in the holy mountains.
The psalm begins without introduction, speaking of his foundation in the holy mountains. The next verses make clear that this foundation is the city of Zion.
Also read Matthew 16:18, Isaiah 56:7, Psalm 121:1, Zechariah 8:3
The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. The city is set apart from the rest of the land by God's love for it.
Also read Isaiah 14:32, Deuteronomy 12:5, Psalm 132:13-14, Psalm 78:67-69
Glorious things are spoken about you, city of God. Selah.
Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
The verse speaks to the city directly: glorious things are spoken about you, city of God. It reads like a title for the whole psalm.
Also read Ezekiel 36:11-38, Hebrews 12:22-23, Psalm 125:1-2, Isaiah 59:20-22
I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me.Behold, Philistia, Tyre, and also Ethiopia:“This one was born there.”
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.
Here God speaks. Rahab and Babylon are recorded among those who acknowledge me, then Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia are named, and the verse says: this one was born there.
Also read Jeremiah 25:9, 1 Samuel 17:8, Daniel 2:47-48, 2 Samuel 21:16-22
Yes, of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one was born in her;”the Most High himself will establish her.
And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.
The birth language is said of Zion itself. This one and that one was born in her, and the Most High himself will establish the city.
Also read Matthew 16:18, Hebrews 12:22-24, Romans 8:31, Ezekiel 48:35
The LORD will count, when he writes up the peoples,“This one was born there.” Selah.
The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.
The picture is of a register. When the LORD writes up the peoples, he enters them as born in Zion, so their belonging is recorded by God himself.
Also read Jeremiah 3:19, Revelation 20:15, Revelation 13:8, Galatians 4:26-31
Those who sing as well as those who dance say,“All my springs are in you.”
As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.
The psalm ends in music and dance. Those who sing and those who dance say all my springs are in you, speaking of the city as the source of what refreshes them.
Also read John 7:37-39, John 4:14, James 1:17, John 4:10
A prayer from Psalm 87
LORD, you have set your foundation in the holy mountains, and you love the gates of Zion. Glorious things are spoken about your city. When you write up the peoples, you name Rahab and Babylon, Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia, and you say of each one, this one was born there. Thank you that the list is so wide. Count me among those who acknowledge you. With those who sing and those who dance, I say to you, all my springs are in you. Amen.
Psalm 87 Bible study questions
- In verse 4, which nations are named among those who acknowledge God, and what is surprising about that list?
- What phrase is repeated in verses 4 to 6, and who is described as having been born in Zion?
- The psalm counts outsiders as born in Zion; what might it mean to you to be counted as belonging somewhere?
- Verse 7 says all my springs are in you; what do you think of as the sources of your own life and strength?
- Psalm 46:4 describes a river whose streams make the city of God glad; how does that image compare with the springs in Psalm 87:7?
Questions about Psalm 87
Who wrote Psalm 87?
The heading gives it to the sons of Korah and calls it a psalm and a song. No individual writer is named.
What is Psalm 87 about?
It praises Zion, the city of God, and says that people from other nations, including Babylon, Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia, will be recorded as born there.
What does Psalm 87:4 mean?
God names several foreign places among those who acknowledge him and says, this one was born there. The psalm counts them as belonging to Zion.
What does Psalm 87:7 mean?
Singers and dancers say of Zion, all my springs are in you. The city is described as the source of their life and joy.
How does the King James Version word Psalm 87:7?
The KJV reads "As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee." Where the KJV has players on instruments, the World English Bible has those who dance.
Psalm 87 KJV: the King James Version
His foundation is in the holy mountains.1
The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.2
Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.3
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.4
And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.5
The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.6
As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.7
Psalm 87 in Hebrew
The Hebrew text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain. Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible, which counts a psalm's heading as verse 1, so they can run one ahead of English Bibles.
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1 לִבְנֵי־קֹ֭רַח מִזְמ֣וֹר שִׁ֑יר יְ֝סוּדָת֗וֹ בְּהַרְרֵי־קֹֽדֶשׁ ׃
2 אֹהֵ֣ב יְ֭הוָה שַׁעֲרֵ֣י צִיּ֑וֹן מִ֝כֹּ֗ל מִשְׁכְּנ֥וֹת יַעֲקֹֽב׃
3 נִ֭כְבָּדוֹת מְדֻבָּ֣ר בָּ֑ךְ עִ֖יר הָאֱלֹהִ֣ים סֶֽלָה׃
4 אַזְכִּ֤יר ׀ רַ֥הַב וּבָבֶ֗ל לְֽיֹ֫דְעָ֥י הִנֵּ֤ה פְלֶ֣שֶׁת וְצ֣וֹר עִם־כּ֑וּשׁ זֶ֝֗ה יֻלַּד־שָֽׁם׃
5 וּֽלֲצִיּ֨וֹן ׀ יֵאָמַ֗ר אִ֣ישׁ וְ֭אִישׁ יֻלַּד־בָּ֑הּ וְה֖וּא יְכוֹנְנֶ֣הָ עֶלְיֽוֹן׃
6 יְֽהוָ֗ה יִ֭סְפֹּר בִּכְת֣וֹב עַמִּ֑ים זֶ֖ה יֻלַּד־שָׁ֣ם סֶֽלָה׃
7 וְשָׁרִ֥ים כְּחֹלְלִ֑ים כָּֽל־מַעְיָנַ֥י בָּֽךְ׃
Psalm 87 in the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible
The Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain. It follows the Greek and Latin numbering, so this psalm is Psalm 86 there.
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1 For the sons of Core, a psalm of a canticle. The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains:
2 The Lord loveth the gates of Sion above all the tabernacles of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God.
4 I will be mindful of Rahab and of Babylon knowing me. Behold the foreigners, and Tyre, and the people of the Ethiopians, these were there.
5 Shall not Sion say: This man and that man is born in her? and the Highest himself hath founded her.
6 The Lord shall tell in his writings of peoples and of princes, of them that have been in her.
7 The dwelling in thee is as it were of all rejoicing.
Psalm 87 in Latin
The Clementine Vulgate, public domain, where this psalm is Psalm 86.
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1 Filiis Core. Psalmus cantici. Fundamenta ejus in montibus sanctis;
2 diligit Dominus portas Sion super omnia tabernacula Jacob.
3 Gloriosa dicta sunt de te, civitas Dei !
4 Memor ero Rahab et Babylonis, scientium me; ecce alienigenæ, et Tyrus, et populus Æthiopum, hi fuerunt illic.
5 Numquid Sion dicet: Homo et homo natus est in ea, et ipse fundavit eam Altissimus?
6 Dominus narrabit in scripturis populorum et principum, horum qui fuerunt in ea.
7 Sicut lætantium omnium habitatio est in te.
Printable Psalm 87: free, large print and PDF
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Psalm 87 at a glance
| Verses | 7 |
| Heading in the text | A Psalm by the sons of Korah; a Song. |
| Attributed to | The heading gives it to the sons of Korah and calls it a psalm and a song. |
| Type | Praise |
| Number in Greek and Latin Bibles | Psalm 86 |
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Psalm 87 in other translations
This page prints the World English Bible and the King James Version because both are public domain. The NIV, ESV, NKJV, NLT and NASB are under copyright, so they cannot be printed in full here. You can read Psalm 87 in those translations at Bible Gateway.
Where Psalm 87 belongs
Psalms of the sons of KorahBook 3 of the Psalms
How this page was made
The psalm text comes from public domain translations and is not edited. The summary, the verse notes and the answers are written for this page from the text of the psalm itself. Where a claim goes beyond the text, it is sourced below.
Sources
- Text: World English Bible and King James Version, both public domain, from ebible.org source
- Hebrew text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Douay-Rheims: Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Latin text: Clementine Vulgate, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Numbering: Greek and Latin psalm numbering, Wikipedia, Psalms source