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And of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her; And the Most High Himself shall establish her.”
Psalms 87:5 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yes, of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one was born in her”; the Most High himself will establish her.
  • KJV And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.
  • BSB And it will be said of Zion: “This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High Himself will establish her.”
  • NASB But of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; And the Most High Himself will establish her.
  • NLT Regarding Jerusalem it will be said, “Everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there.” And the Most High will personally bless this city.

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

Of Zion it is said that many were born in her, for the Most High Himself establishes her. God grants spiritual birthright in His city and secures it.

Overview

The repeated 'this one was born there' affirms a new identity granted to those incorporated into Zion. God Most High personally establishes the city, guaranteeing her permanence. This new birth into the people of God prefigures the new birth Christ brings, by which believers become children of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Rom 8:31What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
  • 1 Pet 1:23–24having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.
  • Gal 3:26–28For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.
  • Ezek 48:35It shall be eighteen thousand reeds around: and the name of the city from that day shall be, Yahweh is there.
  • John 1:12–14But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:
  • Heb 11:32What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets;
  • John 3:3–5Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.”
  • Isa 60:1–9“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you.
  • Isa 44:4–5and they will spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses.
  • Heb 12:22–24But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable multitudes of angels,
  • Ps 48:8As we have heard, so we have seen, in the city of Yahweh of Armies, in the city of our God. God will establish it forever. Selah.
  • Matt 16:18I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 87:5YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 87:5 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.