Passage

Psalms 87

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

^{A Psalm of the sons of Korah; a Song.} His foundation is in the holy mountains. 2. Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion More than all the dwellings of Jacob. 3. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. [[Selah 4. I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon as among them that know me: Behold, Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia: This one was born there. 5. Yea, of Zion it shall be said, This one and that one was born in her; And the Most High himself will establish her. 6. Jehovah will count, when he writeth up the peoples, This one was born there. [[Selah 7. They that sing as well as they that dance shall say, All my fountains are in thee. (Psalms 87:1-7, ASV)

WEB

A Psalm by the sons of Korah; a Song. His foundation is in the holy mountains. 2. Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. 3. Glorious things are spoken about you, city of God. Selah. 4. I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me. Behold, Philistia, Tyre, and also Ethiopia: “This one was born there.” 5. Yes, of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one was born in her”; the Most High himself will establish her. 6. Yahweh will count, when he writes up the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah. 7. Those who sing as well as those who dance say, “All my springs are in you.” (Psalms 87:1-7, WEB)

KJV

A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah. His foundation is in the holy mountains. ^{for the sons: or, of the sons} 2. The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. 3. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah. 4. I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there. 5. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her. 6. The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah. 7. As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee. (Psalms 87:1-7, KJV)

YLT

By sons of Korah., A Psalm, a song. His foundation [is] in holy mountains. 2. Jehovah is loving the gates of Zion Above all the tabernacles of Jacob. 3. Honourable things are spoken in Thee, O city of God. Selah. 4. I mention Rahab and Babel to those knowing Me, Lo, Philistia, and Tyre, with Cush! This [one] was born there. 5. And of Zion it is said: Each one was born in her, And He, the Most High, doth establish her. 6. Jehovah doth recount in the describing of the peoples, 'This [one] was born there.' Selah. 7. Singers also as players on instruments, All my fountains [are] in Thee! (Psalms 87:1-7, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the sons of Korah, per the superscription
Audience: Israel gathered in worship; the Psalter is the congregation's book
Location: the sanctuary and its liturgy, rather than a narrative setting
Time period: the monarchy or later; individual psalms are difficult to date and the Psalter was compiled over centuries

Theological reading

A short psalm about Zion with a remarkable claim: Rahab and Babylon, Philistia, Tyre and Cush are listed among those who know God, and of Zion it is said that this one and that one were born there.

Rahab here is the poetic name for Egypt. So the list is of Israel's historic enemies and oppressors, and the psalm registers them as native-born citizens of Zion.

The register image is the mechanism. The LORD records as he enrols the peoples, and the phrase "this one was born there" is repeated, which is the language of a birth roll rather than of conquest or assimilation. Membership is granted by registration rather than by descent.

For a psalm in the Hebrew Bible to name Egypt and Babylon as Zion's citizens is a considerable thing, and it belongs with the strand running through Isaiah 19 and 56 that the codex treats under the inclusion argument at Jeremiah 31 New Covenant Objection Defeater.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.