Psalms 132 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
Recalls events around 1000 BC under David and Solomon, and was probably composed for temple use during the era of the kings or after the exile
Location
Jerusalem and the temple, with a backward look at Ephrathah and the fields of Jaar, where the ark of the covenant had been kept
Audience
Worshippers at the temple, likely during a ceremony recalling the ark's arrival in Jerusalem
Situation
The longest of the ascent songs recalls David's vow to find a resting place for the ark of the covenant, the gold-covered chest that represented God's presence with Israel. It then recites God's promise that David's descendants would keep the throne, and that God has chosen Zion as his permanent home.
Key Background
The ark had sat for years at Kiriath-jearim, referred to here as the fields of Jaar, before David brought it into Jerusalem in a public procession, and this psalm reads like a script for reenacting that day. The promise to David's line comes from the prophet Nathan's message in 2 Samuel 7, a text that shaped Israel's expectation of a lasting king. In the ancient Near East a god was thought to choose a city and a dynasty together, so tying God's choice of Zion to his choice of David follows a pattern the surrounding cultures would have recognised, even while the content differs.
David and all the he endured.
How he an to Yahweh, made a solemn promise to the of
"I will not enter my own house, nor climb into my own — "
"I will not let my close, nor let my — "
"until I find a for Yahweh, a for the Mighty One of Jacob."
We heard about in Ephrathah; we found in the of
"Let us go to dwelling; let us kneel before the where he
up, Yahweh, and come to — you and the that
Let your wear like a robe; let those to you shout with joy.
For the sake of David, your servant, don't turn away from the to
Yahweh an to David — a he will back: "I will set one of your own descendants on your
"If your sons keep my covenant and the I will teach them, then their sons, too, will sit on your throne
For Yahweh has Zion; he wanted it as
"This is my age. Here I will live, because this is what I
"I will with abundance; I will satisfy with
"I will her priests in rescue, and those devoted to her will — really — with joy."
"There I will up a from David's line; I have set up a for the to
"I will in disgrace, but on own head, will