Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; We found it in the fields of the woods.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah. We found it in the field of Jaar:
- KJV Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.
- BSB We heard that the ark was in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.
- NASB ¶Behold, we heard about it in Ephrathah, We found it in the field of Jaar.
- NLT We heard that the Ark was in Ephrathah; then we found it in the distant countryside of Jaar.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The people recall hearing of the ark and finding it in the fields of Jaar. It recounts the joyful recovery and bringing up of the ark of God.
Overview
The psalm remembers locating the ark, associated with Ephrathah and the fields of Jaar near Kiriath-jearim, where it had long rested. The community joins in the journey to restore God's presence to its proper place. This points to the longing for God to dwell among His people, fulfilled in Christ, God with us.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 1 Sam 17:12Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons. The man was an elderly old man in the days of Saul.
- 1 Sam 7:1The men of Kiriath Jearim came, and took Yahweh’s ark, and brought it into Abinadab’s house on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep Yahweh’s ark.
- Mic 5:2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.
- 1 Chr 13:5–6So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor the brook of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath, to bring God’s ark from Kiriath Jearim.
- Ruth 1:2The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem Judah. They came into the country of Moab, and lived there.
- Gen 35:19Rachel died, and was buried on the way to Ephrath (also called Bethlehem).
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 132:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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