Psalms 87:5
in Psalms 87And it will be said of Zion: “This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High Himself will establish her.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yea, of Zion it shall be said, This one and that one was born in her; And the Most High himself will establish her.
KJV
And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.
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This verse in Psalms 87
Commentary
4 notes on this verseWill a man say to Zion, and a man is born in her? The Seventy translators rendered it thus: Will a man say to Zion? Many, then, expected, and did not understand what μήτη Σιὼν is: and they added a ρ, and they read μήτηρ Σιὼν ἐρεῖ ἄνθρωπος (mother Zion will a man say). And they say this because there follows, And a man is born in her: they expect that it also ought to be said in this way, Mother Zion will a man say.
This site's exposition
Rahab and Babylon
on Psalms 87:4-6
Rahab here is a poetic name for Egypt, paired with Babylon, Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia as a roster of Israel's old enemies and distant strangers, and the psalm registers each of them as though born a citizen of Zion, this man was born there. Verse 6 repeats the formula as the Lord's own census, when he writeth up the people, the nations enrolled by name rather than merely admitted at the gate. The older commentators read this as the clearest anticipation in the Old Testament of Gentiles brought into the citizenship of God's city, a reading they hold by name and not a claim the psalm states as history already accomplished.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A man, a man was born in her, by which some understand Christ, that man, that son of man, who is fairer than the children of men; he was born at Bethlehem near Zion, and was the glory of his people Israel. The greatest honour that ever was put upon the Jewish nation was, that of them, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, Rom. ix.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The writer resumes-- This and that man--literally, "man and man," or many (Ge 14:10; Ex 8:10, 14), or all (Isa 44:5; Ga 3:28). the highest . . . her--God is her protector.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And to Zion it will be said, “Man after man was born in her” And when they bring them as a tribute to the Lord, it will be said to Zion concerning each one, “This is [one] of those who were exiled from you,” or “from their generations.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The Lord counts in the script of the peoples, “This one, etc.” This is a transposed verse, and סלה, forever, which is said at the end, refers to the beginning: When the Lord counts in the script of the peoples forever.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּֽלֲצִיּ֨וֹן׀ | ulatziyon | and of Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| יֵאָמַ֗ר | yeamar | it will be said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְ֭אִישׁ | veish | and a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יֻלַּד־ | yulad- | he was born | H3205 → | 496 times |
| בָּ֑הּ | bah | in it | ||
| וְה֖וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יְכוֹנְנֶ֣הָ | yekhoneha | he will establish it | H3559 → | 217 times |
| עֶלְיֽוֹן׃ | elyon | [the] Most High | H5945 → | 53 times |
וּֽלֲצִיּ֨וֹן׀and of Zion
ulatziyonH6726 →154 times
יֵאָמַ֗רit will be said
yeamarH559 →5305 times
אִ֣ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וְ֭אִישׁand a person
veishH376 →1663 times
יֻלַּד־he was born
yulad-H3205 →496 times
בָּ֑הּin it
bah
וְה֖וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
יְכוֹנְנֶ֣הָhe will establish it
yekhonehaH3559 →217 times
עֶלְיֽוֹן׃[the] Most High
elyonH5945 →53 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 8:31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
it leads to
- Psalms 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- Psalms 56:11
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- 1 John 4:4
You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- Isaiah 54:17
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the…
- Psalms 118:6
Through
Ezekiel 48:35The perimeter of the city will be 18,000 cubits, and from that day on the name of the city will be: THE LORD IS THERE.”
it leads to
- Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will…
- Zechariah 2:10
“Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you,” declares the LORD.
- Revelation 22:3
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be within the city, and His servants will worship Him.
- Revelation 21:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Homily 18, on Psalm 86; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.