84:3 Even the birds find a home there,
and the swallow 1 builds a nest,
where she can protect her young 2
near your altars, O Lord who rules over all,
my king and my God.
1 tn The word translated “swallow” occurs only here and in Prov 26:2.
2 tn Heb “even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, [in] which she places her young.”
sn The psalmist here romanticizes the temple as a place of refuge and safety. As he thinks of the birds nesting near its roof, he envisions them finding protection in God’s presence.