Psalms 48:13

consider her ramparts, tour her citadels, that you may tell the next generation.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The psalmist addresses the community, urging them to inspect Zion's defenses immediately after recounting God's judgment on enemy kings. The speaker commands deliberate observation before instructing the audience to pass the account forward.

The words — The Hebrew verb שִׁיתוּ (shi.tu) literally means "set" or "place," directed toward לִבְּכֶם (libbekhem), "your heart," forming the idiom "set your heart." The command פַּסְּגוּ (passegu), "walk through" or "tour," targets the city's ramparts and citadels.

The thread — The imperative to recount divine acts to future generations appears in Psalms 71:18 and Deuteronomy 11:19. The inspection of walls and fortresses echoes the peace and prosperity petitions of Psalms 122:7.

Why it lands — The text demands intentional observation of physical defenses before passing the historical account to the next generation. It requires the reader to treat communal memory as a deliberate act of transmission rather than passive recollection.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

שִׁ֤יתוּShi.tuset לִבְּכֶ֨ם׀li.be./Khemheart/ your לְֽחֵילָ֗הle./chei.La/hto/ rampart/ its פַּסְּג֥וּpa.se.Guwalk through אַרְמְנוֹתֶ֑יהָ'ar.me.no.Tei./hafortresses/ its לְמַ֥עַןle.Ma.'anso that תְּ֝סַפְּר֗וּte.sa.pe.Ruyou may recount [it]לְד֣וֹרle./Dorto/ a generation אַחֲרֽוֹן׃'a.cha.Ronlater

King James Version

Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.

Cross-references

Psalms 71:18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.
Psalms 122:7 May there be peace within your walls, and prosperity inside your fortresses.”
Deuteronomy 11:19 Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Psalms 78:4 We will not hide them from their children but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might and the wonders He has performed.
Joel 1:3 Tell it to your children; let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.
Isaiah 58:12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.
Amos 9:11 “In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,
Acts 15:14 Simon has told us how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to be His own.