A Psalm of David. O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain?
Parallel translations
- WEB A Psalm by David. Yahweh, who shall dwell in your sanctuary? Who shall live on your holy hill?
- KJV Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
- NKJV Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
- NASB Lord, who may reside in Your tent? Who may settle on Your holy hill?
- NLT Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
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
David asks who is fit to dwell in God's presence on his holy hill. It matters because it raises the question of what kind of person may enjoy fellowship with a holy God.
Overview
This entrance liturgy poses the question of who may abide in Yahweh's sanctuary and live on his holy hill. The answer that follows describes a life of integrity, marking the character fitting for those who draw near to God. Ultimately no sinner meets this standard perfectly, so the psalm points to the need for the righteousness that Christ provides to those who come to God through him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Ps 24:3–5Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place?
- Ps 84:4How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah
- Ps 61:4Let me dwell in Your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
- Ps 92:13Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
- Ps 23:6Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
- Rev 21:23–24And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
- Ps 43:3–4Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, and to the place where You dwell.
- Rev 21:3–4And 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 be with them as their God.
- Heb 12:22Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels
- John 17:24Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
- John 3:3–5Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
- Ps 27:4–6One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.
- Ps 2:6“I have installed My King on Zion, upon My holy mountain.”
- Ps 1:1–4Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
- Ps 3:4To the LORD I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy mountain. Selah
- Ps 87:1–3A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A song. He has founded His city on the holy mountains.
- John 14:3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.
- Rev 7:14–17“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
- Rev 14:1Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
- Ps 21:3–5For You welcomed him with rich blessings; You placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
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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 15:1 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.