Psalms 87:5

But it is said of Zion’s residents, ¹  “Each one of these ²  was born in her, and the sovereign One ³  makes her secure.” ⁴ 

Isa 44:4,5; Isa 60:1-9; Eze 48:35; Mt 16:18; Joh 1:12-14; Joh 3:3-5; Ro 8:31; Ga 3:26-28; Heb 11:32-40; Heb 12:1,2,22-24; 1Pe 1:23,24

¹ tn Heb “and of Zion it is said.” Another option is to translate, “and to Zion it is said.” In collocation with the Niphal of אָמַר (’amar), the preposition lamed (-לְ) can introduce the recipient of the statement (see Josh 2:2; Jer 4:11; Hos 1:10; Zeph 3:16), carry the nuance “concerning, of” (see Num 23:23), or mean “be named” (see Isa 4:3; 62:4).

² tn Heb “a man and a man.” The idiom also appears in Esth 1:8. The translation assumes that the phrase refers to each of Zion’s residents, in contrast to the foreigners mentioned in v. 4. Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand this as a reference to each of the nations, including those mentioned in v. 4.

³ tn Traditionally “Most High.”

⁴ tn Heb “and he makes her secure, the Most High.”