Psalms 48
Old Testament · King James Version
Psalm 48, a song and psalm of the sons of Korah, celebrates God’s greatness in Zion. Hostile kings flee, worshipers meditate on steadfast love and righteousness, and the community is told to inspect the city so that God’s faithfulness can be recounted to the next generation.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
God is known in her palaces for a refuge.
For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.
They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away.
Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.
We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.
According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.
Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.
Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.
Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.
For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.
Context
Psalm 48 praises God in Zion, narrates the collapse of hostile royal confidence, meditates on steadfast love and righteousness, and turns the city’s remembered security into testimony for the next generation.
Themes & application
- God praised in Zion
- Kings flee; God establishes the city
- Steadfast love, righteousness, and praise
- Inspect Zion, tell the next generation, trust God’s guidance
Psalm 48, a song and psalm of the sons of Korah, celebrates God’s greatness in Zion. Hostile kings flee, worshipers meditate on steadfast love and righteousness, and the community is told to inspect the city so that God’s faithfulness can be recounted to the next generation.
Key verses
The LORD is great and greatly to be praised in the city of God; the city matters because it is the setting of divine praise, not because architecture or geography makes people more valuable.
Application: The LORD is great and greatly to be praised in the city of God; the city matters because it is the setting of divine praise, not because architecture or geography makes people more valuable.
Commonly misread: Psalm 48’s Zion, kings, siege, and city imagery belongs first to its ancient poetic setting. It does not authorize modern territorial conquest, nationalism, ethnic supremacy, religious violence, or claims that a city or nation is immune from suffering. Verse 14 also has a genuine textual/translation difficulty at its close, so the commentary notes the ambiguity rather than making a doctrine depend on one rendering.
God is known within Zion’s citadels as a secure refuge; the verse locates the city’s confidence in God rather than in walls, wealth, or military power.
Application: God is known within Zion’s citadels as a secure refuge; the verse locates the city’s confidence in God rather than in walls, wealth, or military power.
Commonly misread: Psalm 48’s Zion, kings, siege, and city imagery belongs first to its ancient poetic setting. It does not authorize modern territorial conquest, nationalism, ethnic supremacy, religious violence, or claims that a city or nation is immune from suffering. Verse 14 also has a genuine textual/translation difficulty at its close, so the commentary notes the ambiguity rather than making a doctrine depend on one rendering.
What the community had heard about God it now says it has seen in the city of the LORD of hosts; the testimony joins inherited faith with experienced confirmation, while “established forever” remains poetic covenant confidence rather than a guarantee against historical suffering.
Application: What the community had heard about God it now says it has seen in the city of the LORD of hosts; the testimony joins inherited faith with experienced confirmation, while “established forever” remains poetic covenant confidence rather than a guarantee against historical suffering.
Commonly misread: Psalm 48’s Zion, kings, siege, and city imagery belongs first to its ancient poetic setting. It does not authorize modern territorial conquest, nationalism, ethnic supremacy, religious violence, or claims that a city or nation is immune from suffering. Verse 14 also has a genuine textual/translation difficulty at its close, so the commentary notes the ambiguity rather than making a doctrine depend on one rendering.
In God’s temple the worshipers ponder steadfast love; public praise is rooted in deliberate remembrance of God’s covenant faithfulness.
Application: In God’s temple the worshipers ponder steadfast love; public praise is rooted in deliberate remembrance of God’s covenant faithfulness.
Commonly misread: Psalm 48’s Zion, kings, siege, and city imagery belongs first to its ancient poetic setting. It does not authorize modern territorial conquest, nationalism, ethnic supremacy, religious violence, or claims that a city or nation is immune from suffering. Verse 14 also has a genuine textual/translation difficulty at its close, so the commentary notes the ambiguity rather than making a doctrine depend on one rendering.
The psalm closes by confessing that this God is our God forever and that he guides his people; the final Hebrew phrase is textually difficult and translated in more than one way, so confidence in God’s enduring guidance should not be made to depend on a single disputed rendering.
Application: The psalm closes by confessing that this God is our God forever and that he guides his people; the final Hebrew phrase is textually difficult and translated in more than one way, so confidence in God’s enduring guidance should not be made to depend on a single disputed rendering.
Commonly misread: Psalm 48’s Zion, kings, siege, and city imagery belongs first to its ancient poetic setting. It does not authorize modern territorial conquest, nationalism, ethnic supremacy, religious violence, or claims that a city or nation is immune from suffering. Verse 14 also has a genuine textual/translation difficulty at its close, so the commentary notes the ambiguity rather than making a doctrine depend on one rendering.
Common misreadings of Psalms 48
Misreading: Psalm 48’s Zion, kings, siege, and city imagery belongs first to its ancient poetic setting. It does not authorize modern territorial conquest, nationalism, ethnic supremacy, religious violence, or claims that a city or nation is immune from suffering. Verse 14 also has a genuine textual/translation difficulty at its close, so the commentary notes the ambiguity rather than making a doctrine depend on one rendering.
In context: God is known within Zion’s citadels as a secure refuge; the verse locates the city’s confidence in God rather than in walls, wealth, or military power.
Misreading: Psalm 48’s Zion, kings, siege, and city imagery belongs first to its ancient poetic setting. It does not authorize modern territorial conquest, nationalism, ethnic supremacy, religious violence, or claims that a city or nation is immune from suffering. Verse 14 also has a genuine textual/translation difficulty at its close, so the commentary notes the ambiguity rather than making a doctrine depend on one rendering.
In context: The psalm closes by confessing that this God is our God forever and that he guides his people; the final Hebrew phrase is textually difficult and translated in more than one way, so confidence in God’s enduring guidance should not be made to depend on a single disputed rendering.
Cross-references
- Psalm 46 — Psalm 48 praises God in Zion, narrates the collapse of hostile royal confidence, meditates on steadfast love and righteousness, and turns the city’s remembered security into testimony for the next generation.
- Psalm 47 — Psalm 48 praises God in Zion, narrates the collapse of hostile royal confidence, meditates on steadfast love and righteousness, and turns the city’s remembered security into testimony for the next generation.
- Psalm 87 — Psalm 48 praises God in Zion, narrates the collapse of hostile royal confidence, meditates on steadfast love and righteousness, and turns the city’s remembered security into testimony for the next generation.
Frequently asked questions about Psalms 48
Does Psalm 48 give a modern territorial claim?
Why walk around Zion in verses 12–13?
Why do translations differ at Psalm 48:14?
Sources & editorial notes
- Translation
- Commentary anchored in the public-domain Psalm 48 text used by the site (en).
- Authorship
- The superscription identifies Psalm 48 as a song and psalm of the sons of Korah.
- Editorial process
- Chapter-specific synthesis checked against Psalm 48’s movement from Zion praise through royal panic to remembered steadfast love and intergenerational testimony.
References
- Psalm 48 — Primary text and literary movement.
- Psalm 46 — Related Korahite Zion and city-of-God imagery.
Author: The Lord Will Editorial Team · Reviewed by: Ugo Candido · Updated: 2026-08-14