Bible Strands
Psalms 78:68
But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the Israelite assembly while recounting God’s historical interventions, specifically noting the moment God shifted His chosen royal and cultic centers from Ephraim to Judah and Jerusalem.
The words — יִבְחַר (yivchar) translates literally to "he chose," and צִיּוֹן (tziyon) denotes "Zion," marking the specific geographic and tribal locations God actively selected.
The thread — This selection pattern runs through Genesis 49:8 regarding Judah’s leadership, Psalm 87:2 on God’s preference for Zion’s gates, and Psalm 132:12’s conditional promise of an enduring Davidic throne.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that divine election follows God’s sovereign will rather than human lineage or merit, demanding a recalibration of trust toward the location and lineage God explicitly established.
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
But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.
Cross-references
- Psalms 87:2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
- Genesis 49:8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
- Psalms 132:12 If your sons keep My covenant and the testimony I will teach them, then their sons will also sit on your throne forever and ever.”
- Ruth 4:17 The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, the father of David.
- 1 Samuel 16:1 Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”
- 2 Chronicles 6:6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem for My Name to be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’