Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 15:1 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 1. 1LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 15:1: Inside “Who may dwell on God's holy hill?,” “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in…” raises a real poetic question instead of supplying a detached answer.
Who may sojourn on the holy hill?
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 15:1–5. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 15:1–5
Read Psalms 15:1 with 15:1–5. Read alone, “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy…” could lose the communal voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 15:1–5, the communal voice carries the movement “Who may dwell on God's holy hill?” as part of “Who may dwell on God's holy hill?.” Its entrance-liturgy form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 15:1–5 opens Psalm 15 with “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” and establishes the communal voice and “Who may dwell on God's holy hill?” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Within that relationship, Psalm 15:1 poses the poem's question through “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill” and leaves the surrounding lines to answer, intensify, or hold it open.
Follow the Context
- Identify the communal voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 15:1–5; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 15:1–5, the communal voice carries the movement “Who may dwell on God's holy hill?” as part of “Who may dwell on God's holy hill?.” Its entrance-liturgy form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
- This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The ethical portrait tests worshipers; it must not become an exclusion checklist controlled by status, ethnicity, disability, or wealth.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 15:1 does not allow “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy…” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse poses the poem's question through “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill” and leaves the surrounding lines to answer, intensify, or hold it open. The complete movement is “Who may dwell on God's holy hill?.” This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The ethical portrait tests worshipers; it must not become an exclusion checklist controlled by status, ethnicity, disability, or wealth.
What Remains True
The lasting force of “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy…” comes through Psalms 15:1–5 and Book I, not isolation. Praise and prayer become truthful when they attend to people harmed by predatory power and pursue protection, generosity, and fair judgment. The local movement is “Who may dwell on God's holy hill?.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The ethical portrait tests worshipers; it must not become an exclusion checklist controlled by status, ethnicity, disability, or wealth.
Teach It Back
Explain why Psalm 15:1 cannot stand alone. Quote “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy…,” use the full 15:1–5, describe the communal voice and “Who may dwell on God's holy hill?,” distinguish first horizon from later reception, and state why This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The ethical portrait tests worshipers; it must not become an exclusion checklist controlled by status, ethnicity, disability, or wealth.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 15:1–5 — Who may dwell on God's holy hill?Sources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 15:1–5, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 15:1–5
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 15:1–5.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 15 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 15:1–5
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Summary, Outline, Introductory Issues, and Theological Themes; applied to Psalms 15:1–5
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 15 for Psalms 15:1–5
Open NETS Psalms ↗