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I have asked the Lord for one thing—
this is what I desire!
I want to live[a] in the Lord’s house[b] all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor[c] of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple.
He will surely[d] give me shelter[e] in the day of danger;[f]
he will hide me in his home.[g]
He will place me[h] on an inaccessible rocky summit.[i]
Now I will triumph
over my enemies who surround me.[j]
I will offer sacrifices in his dwelling place and shout for joy.[k]
I will sing praises to the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 27:4 tn Heb “for me to live.”
  2. Psalm 27:4 sn The Lord’s house. This probably refers to the tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).
  3. Psalm 27:4 tn Or “beauty.”
  4. Psalm 27:5 tn Or “for he will.” The translation assumes the כִּי (ki) is asseverative here, rather than causal.
  5. Psalm 27:5 tn Heb “he will hide me in his hut.”
  6. Psalm 27:5 tn Or “trouble.”
  7. Psalm 27:5 tn Heb “tent.”
  8. Psalm 27:5 tn The three imperfect verb forms in v. 5 anticipate a positive response to the prayer offered in vv. 7-12.
  9. Psalm 27:5 tn Heb “on a rocky summit he lifts me up.” The Lord places the psalmist in an inaccessible place where his enemies cannot reach him. See Ps 18:2.
  10. Psalm 27:6 tn Heb “and now my head will be lifted up over my enemies all around me.”sn In vv. 1-3 the psalmist generalizes, but here we discover that he is facing a crisis and is under attack from enemies (see vv. 11-12).
  11. Psalm 27:6 tn Heb “I will sacrifice in his tent sacrifices of a shout for joy” (that is, “sacrifices accompanied by a joyful shout”).

One thing(A) I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,(B)
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble(C)
    he will keep me safe(D) in his dwelling;
he will hide me(E) in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.(F)

Then my head will be exalted(G)
    above the enemies who surround me;(H)
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice(I) with shouts of joy;(J)
    I will sing(K) and make music(L) to the Lord.

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