Bible Strands
Psalms 84:10
For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — A worshipper in a song of ascent, addressing God directly amid a prayer for favor on His anointed (v. 9), declares a preference for the most humble position in God's house over any exalted position apart from it.
The words — הִסְתּוֹפֵף (his-to-fef) literally means "to stand at the threshold," a rare verb that renders the BSB's "doorkeeper" as a specific, embodied act of waiting at the entrance rather than a title.
The thread — The same longing appears in Psalms 27:4 (dwelling in the house of the LORD all the days of one's life), Psalms 26:8 (love for the place where God's glory resides), and Psalms 63:2 (beholding God's power and glory in the sanctuary).
Why it lands — The verse forces a direct comparison: one day in God's presence versus a thousand in everything else, and it asks the reader to examine whether their actual time and energy align with the preference they claim.
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
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Cross-references
- Psalms 27:4 One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.
- Psalms 26:8 O LORD, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides.
- Psalms 63:2 So I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and glory.
- Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
- Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
- Psalms 84:1 For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Hosts!
- Psalms 141:4 Do not let my heart be drawn to any evil thing or take part in works of wickedness with men who do iniquity; let me not feast on their delicacies.
- Psalms 17:14 from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.
- Psalms 43:3 Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain and to the place where You dwell.
- Luke 2:46 Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.