Psalm 122:3-5

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 122:3 tc Heb “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which is joined to her together.” The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Many regard this as a description of the compact way in which the city was designed or constructed. The translation assumes an emendation of the verb חֻבְּרָה (khubb^erah, “is joined”) to a noun חֶבְרָה (khevrah, “association; company”). The text then reads literally, “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which has a company together.” This in turn can be taken as a reference to Jerusalem’s role as a city where people congregated for religious festivals and other civic occasions (see vv. 4-5).
2. Psalm 122:4 tn Or “went up.”
3. Psalm 122:4 tn Heb “which is where the tribes go up.”
4. Psalm 122:4 tn Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord.”
5. Psalm 122:5 tn Or “for.”
6. Psalm 122:5 tn Or “sat.”
7. Psalm 122:5 tn Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.”