Chapter 84

Translation and Transliteration of

Listen to this chapter in Hebrew:

1For the leader; on the gittith. Of the Korahites. A psalm.

אלַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל־הַגִּתִּית לִבְנֵי־קֹרַח מִזְמוֹר׃

2How lovely is Your dwelling-place, LORD of hosts.

במַה־יְּדִידוֹת מִשְׁכְּנוֹתֶיךָ יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת׃

3I long, I yearn for the courts of Hashem; my body and soul shout for joy to the living Hashem.

גנִכְסְפָה וְגַם־כָּלְתָה נַפְשִׁי לְחַצְרוֹת יְהֹוָה לִבִּי וּבְשָׂרִי יְרַנְּנוּ אֶל אֵל־חָי׃

4Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself in which to set her young, near Your mizbayach, O lord of hosts, my king and my God.

דגַּם־צִפּוֹר מָצְאָה בַיִת וּדְרוֹר קֵן לָהּ אֲשֶׁר־שָׁתָה אֶפְרֹחֶיהָ אֶת־מִזְבְּחוֹתֶיךָ יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת מַלְכִּי וֵאלֹהָי׃

5Happy are those who dwell in Your house; they forever praise You. Selah.

האַשְׁרֵי יוֹשְׁבֵי בֵיתֶךָ עוֹד יְהַלְלוּךָ סֶּלָה׃

6Happy is the man who finds refuge in You, whose mind is on the [pilgrim] highways.

ואַשְׁרֵי אָדָם עוֹז־לוֹ בָךְ מְסִלּוֹת בִּלְבָבָם׃

7They pass through the Valley of Baca, regarding it as a place of springs, as if the early rain had covered it with blessing.

o-v'-RAY b'-AY-mek ha-ba-KHA ma-YAN y'-shee-TU-hu gam b'-ra-KHOT ya-TEH mo-REH

זעֹבְרֵי בְּעֵמֶק הַבָּכָא מַעְיָן יְשִׁיתוּהוּ גַּם־בְּרָכוֹת יַעְטֶה מוֹרֶה׃

84:7 They pass through the Valley of Baca

Valley of Tears in the Golan Heights

The sons of Korach write a psalm depicting the longing for the Beit Hamikdash and the desire to make the great pilgrimage to Yerushalayim three times a year. From all corners of the land, pilgrims make their way to the Holy City for the three festivals, bearing gifts to present in the Beit Hamikdash. Some traverse long distances, while others walk a short way to get to Jerusalem and the Beit Hamikdash. The psalmist writes how the pilgrims would pass through the Emek Habakha, literally ‘the valley of tears,’ struggling to make their way home. In modern times, the name Emek Habakha has been applied to a strip of land in the Golan Heights that was the site of a major battle during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Though vastly outnumbered, the Israeli soldiers of Battalion 77 held their positions against the Syrian army until the Syrians eventually withdrew. While they sacrificed many soldiers, the IDF prevented the Syrian army from breaking through and traveling south to destroy the heartLand of Israel.

8They go from rampart to rampart, appearing before Hashem in Tzion.

חיֵלְכוּ מֵחַיִל אֶל־חָיִל יֵרָאֶה אֶל־אֱלֹהִים בְּצִיּוֹן׃

9O Hashem, God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Yaakov. Selah.

טיְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים צְבָאוֹת שִׁמְעָה תְפִלָּתִי הַאֲזִינָה אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב סֶלָה׃

10O Hashem, behold our shield, look upon the face of Your anointed.

ימָגִנֵּנוּ רְאֵה אֱלֹהִים וְהַבֵּט פְּנֵי מְשִׁיחֶךָ׃

11Better one day in Your courts than a thousand [anywhere else]; I would rather stand at the threshold of Hashem's house than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

יאכִּי טוֹב־יוֹם בַּחֲצֵרֶיךָ מֵאָלֶף בָּחַרְתִּי הִסְתּוֹפֵף בְּבֵית אֱלֹהַי מִדּוּר בְּאָהֳלֵי־רֶשַׁע׃

12For Hashem is sun and shield; Hashem bestows grace and glory; He does not withhold His bounty from those who live without blame.

יבכִּי שֶׁמֶשׁ וּמָגֵן יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים חֵן וְכָבוֹד יִתֵּן יְהֹוָה לֹא יִמְנַע־טוֹב לַהֹלְכִים בְּתָמִים׃

13O lord of hosts, happy is the man who trusts in You.

יגיְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת אַשְׁרֵי אָדָם בֹּטֵחַ בָּךְ׃