Bible Strands
Psalms 48:2
Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Sons of Korah, Levitical worship leaders, address the assembly during a communal psalm of praise for Yahweh’s presence in Jerusalem. The words — נוף (nOf) denotes height or loftiness, and מְשׂוֹשׂ (me.Sos) literally means joy, both modifying Zion’s exalted status. The thread — This imagery of Zion’s beauty and God’s kingship echoes in Psalms 50:2, Matthew 5:35, and Lamentations 2:15. Why it lands — The text identifies Mount Zion as the geographically and spiritually elevated center of divine rule, requiring the reader to acknowledge God’s supreme authority over the earth.
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
King James Version
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
Cross-references
- Psalms 50:2 From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.
- Matthew 5:35 or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
- Lamentations 2:15 All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?”
- Hebrews 12:22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels
- Isaiah 14:13 You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.
- Ezekiel 20:6 On that day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands.
- Daniel 11:16 The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.
- Psalms 47:7 For God is King of all the earth; sing to Him a psalm of praise.
- Isaiah 60:15 Whereas you have been forsaken and despised, with no one passing through, I will make you an everlasting pride, a joy from age to age.
- Isaiah 66:10 Be glad for Jerusalem and rejoice over her, all who love her. Rejoice greatly with her, all who mourn over her,