Psalm 87:1
New International Version
Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. A song. He has founded his city on the holy mountain.

New Living Translation
On the holy mountain stands the city founded by the LORD.

English Standard Version
On the holy mount stands the city he founded;

Berean Standard Bible
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A song. He has founded His city on the holy mountains.

King James Bible
A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah. His foundation is in the holy mountains.

New King James Version
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song. His foundation is in the holy mountains.

New American Standard Bible
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song. His foundation is in the holy mountains.

NASB 1995
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song. His foundation is in the holy mountains.

NASB 1977
His foundation is in the holy mountains.

Legacy Standard Bible
Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm. A Song. His foundation is in the holy mountains.

Amplified Bible
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song. His foundation is on the holy mountain.

Christian Standard Bible
A psalm of the sons of Korah. A song. The city he founded is on the holy mountains.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
A psalm of the sons of Korah. A song. His foundation is on the holy mountains.

American Standard Version
A Psalm of the sons of Korah; a Song. His foundation is in the holy mountains.

Contemporary English Version
Zion was built by the LORD on the holy mountain,

English Revised Version
A Psalm of the sons of Korah; a Song. His foundation is in the holy mountains.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
[By Korah's descendants; a psalm; a song.] [The city] the LORD has founded [stands]on holy mountains.

Good News Translation
The LORD built his city on the sacred hill;

International Standard Version
God's foundation is in the holy mountains.

Majority Standard Bible
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A song. He has founded His city on the holy mountains.

NET Bible
Written by the Korahites; a psalm, a song. The LORD's city is in the holy hills.

New Heart English Bible
[A Psalm by the sons of Korah; a Song.] His foundation is in the holy mountains.

Webster's Bible Translation
A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah. His foundation is in the holy mountains.

World English Bible
A Psalm by the sons of Korah; a Song. His foundation is in the holy mountains.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
A PSALM OF THE SONS OF KORAH. A SONG. His foundation [is] in holy mountains.

Young's Literal Translation
By sons of Korah. -- A Psalm, a song. His foundation is in holy mountains.

Smith's Literal Translation
To the sons of Korah chanting a song. His foundations are in the mountains of holiness.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
For the sons of Core, a psalm of a canticle. The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains:

Catholic Public Domain Version
A Canticle Psalm to the sons of Korah. Its foundations are in the holy mountains:

New American Bible
A psalm of the Korahites. A song. His foundation is on holy mountains, [2] The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than any dwelling in Jacob.

New Revised Standard Version
On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
HER foundations are on his holy mountain.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
His foundations are in his holy mountain!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
A Psalm of the sons of Korah; a Song. His foundation is in the holy mountains.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
A Psalm of a Song for the sons of Core. His foundations are in the holy mountains.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The LORD Loves the Gates of Zion
1A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A song. He has founded His city on the holy mountains. 2The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.…

Cross References
Isaiah 2:2-3
In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. / And many peoples will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Hebrews 12:22
Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels

Revelation 21:2
I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. / For behold, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you, and His glory will appear over you. / Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Galatians 4:26
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

Revelation 3:12
The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.

Micah 4:1-2
In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. / And many nations will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Psalm 48:1-2
A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, His holy mountain. / Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.

Zechariah 8:3
This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”

Matthew 5:14
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Isaiah 62:1-2
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch. / Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.

Ephesians 2:19-22
Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, / built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. / In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ...

Revelation 21:10-11
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, / shining with the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear as crystal.

Psalm 132:13-14
For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home: / “This is My resting place forever and ever; here I will dwell, for I have desired this home.

John 4:21-23
“Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. / You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. / But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.


Treasury of Scripture

His foundation is in the holy mountains.

A.

his

2 Chronicles 3:1
Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Isaiah 28:16
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

the holy

Psalm 48:1,2
A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness…

Psalm 68:16
Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever.

Psalm 121:1
A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

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Psalm 87
1. The nature and glory of the church
4. The increase, honor, and comfort of the members thereof.














His foundation
The phrase "His foundation" refers to the establishment and stability that God provides. In Hebrew, the word for foundation is "יְסוֹד" (yesod), which implies a base or support. This foundation is not merely physical but spiritual, representing God's eternal and unshakeable presence. In a conservative Christian perspective, this foundation is seen as the cornerstone of faith, symbolizing Christ Himself, who is often referred to as the cornerstone in the New Testament (Ephesians 2:20). The foundation laid by God is perfect and enduring, offering believers a secure place to build their lives.

is on
The phrase "is on" indicates location and placement, suggesting that God's foundation is firmly established. This preposition in Hebrew, "בְּ" (be), can also mean "in" or "upon," emphasizing the intimate connection between God and the place He has chosen. It signifies that God's presence is not transient but permanently affixed to the location He has sanctified. For believers, this serves as a reminder of God's omnipresence and His active role in the world.

the holy mountains
"The holy mountains" refers to the elevated places that are set apart for God's purposes. In Hebrew, "הַרֵי־קֹדֶשׁ" (harei-qodesh) combines "mountains" (harim) with "holy" (qodesh), indicating a place of divine significance. Historically, mountains have been seen as places where heaven and earth meet, and in the context of Jerusalem, Mount Zion is often considered the most sacred. This phrase underscores the idea that God chooses specific places to manifest His glory and interact with His people. For conservative Christians, the holy mountains symbolize the church, the body of believers, who are called to be set apart and holy. The imagery of mountains also evokes strength, majesty, and permanence, reflecting the nature of God's kingdom.

(1) His foundation.--This abrupt commencement with a clause without a verb has led to the conjecture that a line has dropped away. But this is unnecessary if we neglect the accents, and take gates of Zion in apposition with His foundation:

His foundation on the holy hill

Loveth Jehovah, (even) Zion's gates,

More than all Jacob's dwellings.

Here His foundation is equivalent to that which He hath founded, and the gates are put by metonymy for the city itself. (Comp. Jeremiah 14:2.)

With regard to the plural, mountains, it is probably only poetical, though geographically it is correct to speak of Jerusalem as situated on hills. Dean Stanley speaks of "the multiplicity of the eminences" which the city "shares, though in a smaller compass, with Rome and Constantinople" (Sinai and Palestine, p. 177).

Verses 1-3. - The praises of Zion.

(1) She is built upon the holy mountains;

(2) God loves her pre-eminently; and

(3) a glorious future is assigned to her in the counsels of God. Ver. 1. - His foundation is in the holy mountains. God's foundation - the city which he has founded - is "in the holy mountains;" i.e. in the hill country of Judaea, a congeries of mountains, "holy," since they surround the holy city and belong to the "holy land" (Zechariah 2:12).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
A Psalm
מִזְמ֣וֹר (miz·mō·wr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4210: Instrumental music, a poem set to notes

of the sons
לִבְנֵי־ (liḇ·nê-)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Korah.
קֹ֭רַח (qō·raḥ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7141: Korah -- an Edomite name, also an Israelite name

A Song.
שִׁ֑יר (šîr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7892: A song, singing

His foundation
יְ֝סוּדָת֗וֹ (yə·sū·ḏā·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3248: A foundation

[is] on the holy
קֹֽדֶשׁ׃ (qō·ḏeš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6944: A sacred place, thing, sanctity

mountains.
בְּהַרְרֵי־ (bə·har·rê-)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2042: Hill, mountain


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OT Poetry: Psalm 87:1 A Psalm by the sons of Korah (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 86:17
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