The LORD Loves the Gates of Zion | Hebrew and English

The Complete Book of Psalms — A musical project ‎| Kol Sefer Tehillim‎

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Psalm 87 is a short psalm of the sons of Korah — seven verses — and at its centre stands one city: Zion. It holds no request and no complaint; it is a song of love for a place.

In the middle of the psalm the view widens to the nations around, the great and the far. Of each of them it can be said that this or that man was born there; of Zion it will be said that many were born in her, and the LORD himself writes the register. The psalm ends in singing: all my springs are in you.

The verse that gives the song its name and chorus:

"The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob"

That is: Zion is not only a city of stone but a beloved city. The chorus adds the promise of verse 5 — this and that man was born in her.