It is high and magnificent; the whole earth rejoices to see it! Mount Zion, the holy mountain, is the city of the great King!
Parallel translations
- WEB Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the north sides, the city of the great King.
- KJV Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
- BSB Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.
- NKJV Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King.
- NASB Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion in the far north, The city of the great King.
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
Mount Zion is beautiful and the joy of the whole earth, the city of the great King. It matters because God's dwelling place is the source of true joy for all peoples.
Overview
Zion is praised for its beauty and as the joy of all the earth, the city of God the great King. Its splendor lies in being the place of God's presence and rule. This anticipates the new Jerusalem and the reign of Christ, the great King, whose city brings joy to all the redeemed from every nation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 50:2Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines out.
- Matt 5:35nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
- Lam 2:15All that pass by clap their hands at you. They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city that men called ‘The perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth’?”
- Heb 12:22But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable multitudes of angels,
- Ezek 20:6in that day I swore to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.
- Isa 14:13You said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly, in the far north!
- Dan 11:16But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the glorious land, and in his hand shall be destruction.
- Isa 66:10“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn over her;
- Ps 47:7–8For God is the King of all the earth. Sing praises with understanding.
- Mal 1:14“But the deceiver is cursed, who has in his flock a male, and vows, and sacrifices to the Lord a defective thing; for I am a great King,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”
- Dan 8:9Out of one of them came out a little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
- Isa 60:15–20“Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no one passed through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
- Mal 3:12“All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Jer 3:19“But I said, ‘How I desire to put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the armies of the nations!’ and I said, ‘You shall call me “My Father”, and shall not turn away from following me.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 48:2 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.