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Psalm 48:7-9
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 48:7-9
New Catholic Bible
7 They were seized with trembling,
with pains like those of a woman in labor,
8 as though a wind from the east[a]
were breaking up the ships of Tarshish.
9 What we had heard,
we have now beheld for ourselves[b]
in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in the city of our God
that he established to endure forever. Selah
Footnotes
- Psalm 48:8 East: geographical allusion mentioned in the introduction. Ships of Tarshish: i.e., the most powerful ships, built for long voyages—like those that went as far as Tarshish, perhaps Tartessus in southern Spain (see 1 Ki 10:22).
- Psalm 48:9 Heard . . . beheld for ourselves: the psalmist may be referring to the glorious things that new pilgrims had heard about the beauty and awesomeness of the holy city and now beheld with their own eyes. He may also be referring to the things the pilgrims had heard from their ancestors about the security of the temple at Jerusalem (see Pss 44:2; 78:3) and now beheld for themselves. They became even more convinced of God’s presence in Jerusalem ordering the world’s events and working out the redemption of his people. The Lord of hosts: see note on Ps 24:10.
