Section 133 of 27187:1–7Psalms
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Psalms 87:1–7, King James Version

Psalms 87:1–7

Zion registers peoples as native-born

Zion is loved as a founded city, and glorious things are spoken of her

His foundation is in the holy mountains. The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. The preference is the LORD's love for Zion's gates, not a ranking of people by neighborhood. Jacob's other dwellings remain dwellings; Zion is named as the city of God.

Former rivals are registered as native-born on the city's roll

I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her. The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

Rahab here is Egypt in poetic dress, named with Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush. The shock is the birth certificate: people from rival powers counted as born in Zion when the LORD writes up the peoples. Singers and players answer from springs in her. The image is belonging imagined among former enemies. It must not become ethnic exclusion, a boast that only some bloodlines count, or supersession that erases Jewish Zion in order to claim the register for someone else.

How this should shape us

Celebrate a belonging large enough to register former rivals as born in the city God loves, without erasing Zion's Jewish particularity. Do not use the birth-roll to lock people out, and do not turn the song into a nationalist census.

Teach it back

Explain Psalms 87:1–7 in your own words. Name the poetic voice and movement, trace its place in Psalm 87 and Book III, identify one exact source control or uncertainty, and reject one use the passage does not authorize.

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King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Psalms 87:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 87:1–7

NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150

Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 87:1–7.

Official NET Bible Psalm 87 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 87:1–7

Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world

Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.

Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: genres and psalm pairs; Theological Themes: kingship, Zion, and covenant; applied to Psalms 87:1–7

A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms

Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.

NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 87 for Psalms 87:1–7

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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 87:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

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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 87:1–7

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 87:1–7.

Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 87 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 87:1–7

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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, Introductory Issues: genres and psalm pairs; Theological Themes: kingship, Zion, and covenant; applied to Psalms 87:1–7

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 87 for Psalms 87:1–7

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