| Psalm 48 | |
| Subtitle: | "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised" |
| Image Upright: | 1.2 |
| Language: | Hebrew (original) |
Psalm 48 is the 48th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of the bible, and generally in its Latin translations, this psalm is Psalm 47. In the Vulgate, it begins "Magnus Dominus".[1] The psalm was composed by the sons of Korah, as "a celebration of the security of Zion",[2] In its heading it is referred to as both a "song" and a "psalm".[3]
The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies, and has been set to music. Bach's 1729 cantata Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171, begins with verse 10 in German, and Penderecki's 1996 Symphony No. 7 begins with the first verse.
The following table shows the Hebrew text[4] [5] of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).
| Verse | Hebrew | English translation (JPS 1917) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah. | |
| 2 | Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain, | |
| 3 | Fair in situation, the joy of the whole earth; Even mount Zion, the uttermost parts of the north, The city of the great King. | |
| 4 | God in her palaces Hath made Himself known for a stronghold. | |
| 5 | For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, They came onward together. | |
| 6 | They saw, straightway they were amazed; They were affrighted, they hasted away. | |
| 7 | Trembling took hold of them there, Pangs, as of a woman in travail. | |
| 8 | With the east wind Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish. | |
| 9 | As we have heard, so have we seen In the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God— God establish it for ever. Selah | |
| 10 | We have thought on Thy lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of Thy temple. | |
| 11 | As is Thy name, O God, So is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth; Thy right hand is full of righteousness. | |
| 12 | Let mount Zion be glad, Let the daughters of Judah rejoice, Because of Thy judgments. | |
| 13 | Walk about Zion, and go round about her; Count the towers thereof. | |
| 14 | Mark ye well her ramparts, Traverse her palaces; That ye may tell it to the generation following. . | |
| 15 | For such is God, our God, for ever and ever; He will guide us eternally. | |
The psalm is described initially as A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.[6] Theologian Albert Barnes writes: "The two appellations, song and psalm, would seem to imply that it was intended to 'combine' what was implied in both these words; that is, that it embraced what was usually understood by the word psalm, and that it was intended also specifically to be sung.
In the New Testament, verse 2 of Psalm 48 is quoted in Matthew 5 KJV.[10]
In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the ninth day of the month,[11] as well as at Mattins on Whitsunday.[12]
Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a paraphrase of Psalm 48 in German, "Groß ist der Herr und hoch gepreist", SWV 145, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628. Magnus Dominus, in Latin, was set to music by François Giroust (1778), Charles Levens and Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville (1734) and by Richard Smallwood (1992).
Bach's cantata Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171, begins with verse 10 in German.
Penderecki's 1996 Symphony No. 7, a choral symphony subtitled "The Seven Gates of Jerusalem", begins with the first verse.
. Alexander Kirkpatrick. The Book of Psalms: with Introduction and Notes . The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges . Book IV and V: Psalms XC-CL . Cambridge . At the University Press . 1901 . 839 . February 28, 2019.